Pixie Wings and Other Things
by Blue -Niagra
Summary: In a world of faeries and wizards, there are certain types of status, and Pixie Wings are the lowest status of them all. Mikan Sakura has pixie wings, something that isn't expected of a princess! Can she find a person who likes her for her? NXM
1. Once Upon A Time

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Mikan is a fairy Princess who has pixie wings... The problem is, Pixie wings are for baby fairies and not people who are in line for the throne! Mikan is made fun of by all the other faeries, but she doesn't care. All she wants to do is find the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with, and prove that Pixie wings aren't all that bad. But if Mikan doesn't sprout her Princess Wings soon, her grandfather will disown her and she and her mother will have nowhere to go! NXM

Me: I disclaim owning Gakuen Alice, anything Gakuen Alice related and the existence of faeries... Thanks for reading this disclaimer!

Me: Hope you enjoy the story! If I have any spelling mistakes or typo errors, tell me, because I am most likely _not_ going to check it, seeing as this is me we are talking about... I hate checking things over, thats why I always fail exams, haha!

**Chapter One:**** Once Upon A Time...**

_In the relam of the faeries, there are six status' of Wings..._

_1) Pixie Wings - Wings for newborns, children and flower faeries.  
2) Fairy Wings - Wings for teenage and adult faeries.  
3) Golden Wings - Wings for the superior adult faeries like mayors. Mer-faeries also have these.  
4) Prince/Princess Wings - Wings for those who are waiting in line for the throne. Given to certain teenage faeries at the age of 15-16 years older.  
5) King/Queen Wings - Wings for the King or Queen. Chosen when the right fairy for the throne sits on the throne.  
6) Angel Wings - Wings that are only given to extremely gifted faeries with pure hearts. Hard to obtain.  
_

_These all show your status in the world of faeries. The most common wings to see are regular fairy wings, and the rarest being Angel wings. But seeing Pixie Wings on an adult fairy, well, that is a joke to the whole of fairy society. This is the story of one young fairy and her mother, who still had their pixie wings even though they were all grown up..._

In a land called Alice, there lived a young fairy named Yuka. She was not a princess or a Queen, and not many people liked her because of her wings. In the realm of the fairies, wings were important as they showed your status of importance. But Yuka, despite being a sixteen year old girl, still had her Pixie Wings.  
Pixie Wings were for children and flower faeries. Once a child hit the age of twelve or thirteen, though, they grew their adult fairy wings. Yuka, alas, never grew fairy wings like her friends did.  
This caused her to become a joke of the fairy realm and a disgrace to her family. She had no more friends, except for one kind and loving young man, a prince who was in line for the throne of the fairy kingdom. He was older than Yuka, but the two fell in love, despite the wings Yuka had and their age difference, and they married much to the shock of the entire kingdom.

Their marriage caused an uproar, and the prince's father was angry. He did not want a common fairy who still had her Pixie Wings to marry his royal son. Of course, Yuka's love and husband ignored his fathers pleas to marry a beautiful princess with Princess Wings, and he stayed with Yuka faithfully.  
Sadly, he died.

Three years into the King and his lovely Queens marriage, the young king died unexpectedly, and his wife was left alone with their baby daughter, Mikan. Her father-in-law then took over the throne, claiming that Yuka was not fit to be a Queen thanks to he Pixie Wings. Of course, Yuka and her daughter stayed in the palace with her father-in-law, because Mikan was a royal by blood. Mikan was made a princess, but Yuka was disowned by the royal family, and was only there to care for her daughter...

It was on one occasion, though, that Yuka was tired and in need of rest. She went to sit on her late husbands throne, not knowing what awaited her. Then, as she sat herself down on her dear husbands throne, behold! Yuka's small and jokeable Pixie Wings burst into a white light, and changed into beautiful Angel Wings! This shocked the widow, who quickly left the throne from fright. After a few minutes, her wings returned to normal. This worried Yuka, becuase Angel Wings were by far very special and the hardest to obtain of all fairy wings. Yuka did not know how she had got them, but, she did know this; She was the first fairy to obtain them in their kingdom in a thousand years.

Of course, she was concerned by this, but Yuka did not hesitate to keep it a secret. She had wondered to herself if she was special, if her heart was pure enough to be given the power of an Angel? She never found out the answer to why she had obtained her beautiful wings which she kept hidden, not until many years later...

**16 Years Later...**

"Mikan! What are you doing out here! You should be inside, studying!" snapped a crankey old voice as the sixteen year old brunette dropped her handful of daises, and looked up to see her not-so-happy grandfather glaring at her. She hesitated, a nervous-like smile upon her pretty face.

"Er... hehe, picking daisies?" she said, holding a particularly pretty daisy in full bloom. Her grandfather, looking disgusted, snatched it away from his only grandaughter and crushed it in his old, but certainly strong, hand.

"You have no time for daisy pikcing, Mikan! You are almost sixteen years old, you should be trying to figure out how to make your wings grow! It is just not proper for a girl your age to have _Pixie Wings_! You should have grown your Princess Wings by now and be waiting to see if you are the next ruler! Not picking stupid flowers without a care in the world! Aren't you affected by this, Mikan!?" he snapped loudly as Mikan yawned, then stared up at him with loving and blinking hazel eyes,

"So what if I have Pixie Wings? Maybe I'm not supposed to be in line for the throne. Mom still has Pixie Wings, so I'm perfectly fine. I'm not the only one." she said calmly, starting to pick flowers. It infuriated her grandfather, who stomped a foot onto the ground.

"So what? _So WHAT!?_ Mikan, your mother is _not_ royalty, it's fine for her to be a common laughing stock, but you... _you_ are royalty! All the royals have gained their Prince or Princess wings by now. Your father grew his at your age, and he became the king! You should have grown yours by now to take his place as his successor! Not sitting around, doing nothing about your status!" he yelled as Mikan placed her hands behind her back, biting her lip as she frowned at her dear grandfather,

"Maybe they don't want to come out, or maybe I'm just not ready to grow any wings other than the ones I have now," she said simply,

"Mikan! Your wings _will_ grow! You are a laughing stock of the whole kingdom! You _need_ to grow them... Nobody has Pixie Wings at your age..." he started,

"Except for mom, and she seems just fine with her wings, like I am fine with mine." she said, angering her grandfather even more.

"Don't get smart with me, young fairy! You have to grow up! I will not accept it if your wings do not grow! You are a royal, your wings are supposed to be fully grown by now! They need to turn into Princess Wings for the festival!" he screeched as Mikan watched him like he was crazy. Once he was finished, she sighed to herself sadly, picking up an uprooted flower and twirling it between her fingers,

"And what if they don't grow? What if I turn out just like mom? What if I stay like this forever and never grow Fairy or Princess Wings? What happens to me then, jii-san?" she asked, which made her raging grandfather pause for thought. He breathed in heavily, staring at her.

"Then you have no choice but to go, Mikan. You can't stay in the palace when a new King or Queen takes over the throne. Even I can't stay, because I won't be related to them in any way," he told her, and turned to leave for the palace as Mikan sat there, shaking her head with a sigh. When her grandfather was out of sight and hearing range, though, Mikan heard an annoying giggled. She whipped her head around to the noise and saw her school enemy sitting on the wall with her gang of evil little friends,

"Gee, Koko, maybe they don't _want_ to come out, what do you think?" asked Sumire, smirking as the sandy-haired teen grinned,

"Pretty pathetic!" he chortled as Mikan put her hands on her hips, staring at Sumire coldly while the perm-haired girl continued her conversation with her little gang of faithful but mean friends;

"Oh, it just makes my parents _so proud_ that I grew the Princess wings, while the Princess herself didn't! I mean, I'm not even royalty, and I'm still in line for the throne! It's so wonderful to know that I am better than the princess herself... Oh, and I see you still have your Pixie Wings, Sakura... How shameful. No wonder your grandfather doesn't like you," Sumire said, flipping her shortish hair as Mikan glared up at the grinning girl angrily,

"Oh, how ironic, it's you... You know what, I'm sick of you, you always come here to show off. And why should I be ashamed of my Pixie Wings, they're much better than yours. My mom still has Pixie Wings and she just so happened to marry a prince!" snapped the young fairy as Sumire snorted,

"Yeah, but that was just a fluke, and don't make me laugh. Your wings are _not_ better than mine, and never will be... unless you somehow manage to sprout Queen wings! If I had the wings you have right now, I would be so _ashamed_ that I would hide myself for eternity! Anyway, your father was probably blind, because _no one_ is stupid enough to marry someone with a status like your mothers! I mean, no prince is going to marry _you_, because we just aren't stupid like your dad," Sumire said in her coldest voice as Mikan growled, loud enough for them to hear,

"Okay, that's it! I don't care what you say about me, but you should _never_ talk about my dad or my mom like that _again_! My parents loved each other! My dad wasn't blind, either! It's _you_ imps who are blind!" she yelled, clenching her fists as Sumire glared at her.

"Ohohoho, Imps, you say? I'm not the impish one, Sakura! I am so superior to you and your pathetic commoner of a mother! If anyone is an imp it is _you_, because you are common scum who isn't even worthy of _looking_ at me." screamed Sumire as Mikan flew towards the wall, then straight up. She was ready to give Sumire a beautiful black eye,

"Don't you _dare_ call my mother a pathetic commoner, you stuck-up prune!" she hissed darkly, but before she and Sumire could kill each other, her mother called to her all of a sudden.

"Mikan Sakura! I thought I told you no fighting! You know better!" cried Yuka loudly, standing beneath her flying daughter. The two looked remarkably alike, and also acted like each other, too. Yuka had always tried to hurt people who had offended her in any way;

"Hmph, saved by the common mother. We'll see you at the crowning ceremony, Imp. Once I'm the Queen, you're gone!" she snapped, and Sumire, followed by her cronies, suddenly disappeared as Mikan glared at the place where they had been sitting, then flew down to her waiting mother, who had folded her arms and was tapping her foot.

"Oh, Mikan! I thought I had clearly told you that it wasn't right to fight with those sort of people! They aren't worth it. I shou;ld know, I've punched a few," she said to her daughter as Mikan sighed, then hugged her mother who held her precious child tightly in her arms.

"Mom... They said some real mean things," she whispered as Yuka rolled her eyes,

"Mikan, just ignore them. I don't want you getting in toruble like _I_ did back when I was your age... Using your fists isn't the answer, really. Just don't listen to them, because they aren't worth what you have to say. Next time, turn around and walk away. No one's allowed in the palace unless they live there." Yuka replied as Mikan nodded, then held her mother even more tightly,

"Will I... ever fall in love?" she asked in a quiet voice as Yuka stared at her daughter and smiled,

"If it can happen to me, then it can happen to you, for sure! You'll just have to look harder, because you need a person who won't care what you look like or what your wing status is. Do you think your father cared when he met me for the first time ever?" Yuka asked, pointing to herself as Mikan shook her head, staring up at her beaming mother.

"I know he loved you... but nobody likes me here! No boys, no girls. Not even the trolls like me!" cried out Mikan as Yuka laughed her melodical laugh, sitting down on the grass and pulling Mikan down with her, picking up some daisies.

"Believe it or not, Mikan dear, trolls don't like _anyone_, heck, they don't even like themselves! But trust me, you'll find love one day. It is the most random thing on the planet! I mean, I met your father in a large pond where I was almost drowning!" Yuka laughed out, throwing the daisy she was holding over her shoulder as Mikan blinked,

"You _did_?" she asked as her pretty mother smiled,

"Uh-huh. He saved me. Of course, whilst saving me, he made a comment about my Pixie Wings when he saw them. He said '_No wonder you can't swim, your propellers don't work, they're too small!'_ and of course I hit him, and tried to fly off. My wings were far too wet to work, though, so we sat on a dock leaf and he told me that my wings were a nice change to what he normally saw every day. He actually _liked_ my wings. He said that I still had a part of my childhood, the one thing that he had never been granted." she explained, staring at a rather small daisy in the groundwith barely any petals to it. Mikan frowned at her mother,

"Your father was different from so many other people. He loved my wings, whilst I had grown to hate them. For years I hated myself for never being able to grow fairy wings like other people, like my friends had... but as I grew to love your father, I also grew to love my wings like he did. I mean, they were the things that attracted me to him!" she said with a smile plastered to her face,

"So... what do you mean dad never had a childhood?" asked Mikan as Yuka raised her brow,

"Well... your dad was a prince, and his Fairy wings came when he was actually a kid. He was around five years old, so, your grandfather made him grow up quickly. Your dad had no time to be a child, like I did. He _wanted_ to be a child, but was never allowed. Being with a person almost his age with Pixie Wings... It was like being a child all over again! I gave him an experience he had wanted so _so_ much." Yuka said happily as Mikan stared at her beaming mother, who stared around the large, flowery garden, sighing to herself happily. She then turned back to Mikan.

"You know, Mikan... I am so glad that you love your wings. I wouldn't bear it if you hated your wings like I used to hate mine, I mean, if you didn't love your wings so much, then you would punch people much more like I did. You don't hurt anyone because I stop you, but you only _want_ to hurt them because they criticise your father and I, and I understand that, I mean, I want to hurt a few of the maids here who criticise your father for marrying me." Yuka said in a coldish voice as Mikan arched a brow. Mikan then went to pick the small daisy that Yuka had been staring at. Yuka quickly slapped Mikan's hand away, and Mikan scowled.

"Ow! I was only going to pick the daisy!" she cried out, but Yuka shook her head,

"No, don't pick it... You know you remind me so much of your father, because you love your wings despite their size and status," Yuka said as Mikan folded her arms.

"Okay, so what do my wings have to do with not picking the daisy?" she asked, blowing her fringe out of her eyes as Yuka smiled, then picked an extremely pretty, fully bloomed daisy from the grassy ground.

"A lot. Now, Mikan, this is an important lesson. Do you know that there is always one daisy that over powers the rest of the daisies, and it especially over powers the smallest, most vulnerable daisy? It may look pretty and big, just like the king, but soon, the smallest daisy grows and grows and it one day turns into the biggest, most beautiful daisy of all. I won't let you take the daisy because I want it to grow, do you understand?" Yuka asked as Mikan folded her arms, looking lost.

"Sort of..." she mumbled as Yuka smiled, closing her palms, then pointing to a nearby rose bush, blossoming with the most beautiful roses.

"Do you see those roses, over there?" she asked, and Mikan gave a nod as Yuka opened her hands, revealing a red rose, blooming and beautiful, then a rose bud, not a single petal open yet. Mikan stared intently,

"My child, you are the rose bud, whilst Sumire is the blooming rose," she started, and Mikan looked unhappy,

"Joy, I'm a little enclosed bud." Mikan mumbled darkly. Yuka continued, smiling down at the roses, then at Mikan.

"In time, the already bloomed rose bud is the queen of all the other roses, but soon, the enclosed bud will bloom, and as it opens up, it turns into the prettiest, sweetest rose of them all, the one that everybody loves. As your father used to say, big things come in small packages. When you bloom Mikan, you will become the most beautiful fairy of all the faeries. Great things happen to great people, Mikan, and I don't mean Sumire." Yuka said as Mikan watched the small bud grow, and she smiled, hugging her mother tightly as Yuka placed the fully grown rose in Mikan's hair.

"Thanks, mom! But... haven't you bloomed yet?" Mikan queeried as Yuka smiled slyly,

"I bloomed years ago, when I met your father. He helped me to grow, to love myself. When the time is right, you will also bloom, Mikan." Yuka said as Mikan gave a small nod, kissing her dear mothers cheek before running into the palace as Yuka sat there, smiling. She then let her Angel Wings spread out, the feathers tickeling her skin.

She sighed, turning her head to look up at the sky.

"Of course I bloomed... and so will you, Mikan, once you're ready and maybe when you find your prince." she whispered, then stood up, her wings returning to Pixie Wings. She then walked into the palace, smiling and humming to herself happily...

"Oh wow, this is so pretty!" cried Mikan, picking some flowers from a large meadow. Mikan was outside of her Kingdom's limits, but she didn't care. If no one liked it then they would just have to execute her or somthing.

As Mikan ran around the meadow freely, picking out wild flowers, some boys and a girl were having a walk. One of the boys was older and very much taller than the others, and the girl was also around his age. The other two boys were around Mikan's age, but probably a little bit older.

"You know, Natsume, you should have really told your father that you were going outside of the palace. He might get really worried when he realises that you've run off, again." stated a blonde haired boy, staring at the scowling raven hiared teenager who shrugged. Like he cared what his father thought,

"He would only set the guards on me, Ruka. I hate that place." mumbled Natsume darkly as Ruka sighed heavily. Sadly, he didn't know how tough it was to be a prince, especially a prince who was in line for the throne.

"Aw, leave him alone, Ruka! It isn't easy being a prince! He needs a little freedom from the palace, and he needs a way to get to know the ladies!" grinned Tsubasa, the tall hat-wearing guy, who just so happened to be the son of a duke. Natsume glared up at him coldly as Tsubasa grinned happily,

Meanwhile, in the meadow, Mikan was trying to catch a butterfly eagerly, but she was clearly failing. She jumped around and cried out at the butterfly, not bothering to fly bcause she was a little dim.

"Oh, please, Mr. Butterfly! Let me catch you! I'll be your friend!" Mikan cried out, then suddenly tripped. Her cries were heard by the young prince and his companions. They stared at where the cries were coming from.

"Who is _that_?" Natsume asked, staring towards the field. He knew everybody in his kingdom, from the prettiest princess to the ugliest troll. Natsume knew that he had never seen the girl in the meadow. His question to who she was, however, was answered when her head popped up, grass in her long hair and flowers stuck to her face. She jumped up, and everyone saw her wings.

"Hey... What's a _fairy_ doing in the Wizarding Kingdom? She isn't supposed to be here without permission!" cried Misaki, the fiancé of Tsubasa. Ruka blinked, slightly blushing as he stared at the pretty fairy in the grassy meadow. Natsume approached the said meadow, with his friends following as Mikan stopped, hearing the footsteps. She turned to stare at them all,

"Oi, you, what are you doing in my Kingdom!?" snapped Natsume as Mikan blinked curiously, leaving the butterfly to flit away swiftly.

"Eh? _Your_ kingdom? What are you, the king or something?" she asked, hands on her hips as she stared at the scowling Natsume. Before he could say anything, though, Tsubasa quickly cut in,

"Close enough! You're looking at the Prince! He will take over the throne once his father retires! So, what brings you here, little miss fairy?" he asked casually as Mikan shrugged, then held out a bunch of wild flowers with a smile on her face,

"The flowers! I love flowers, especially the wild ones! Your kingdom provides really nice wild flowers, much better than the ones in my kingdom! You can't get these where I'm from. But sorry if I trespassed!" she cried as Misaki smiled at her. then suddenly noticed the small wings on Mikan's back.

"Hey... aren't those _Pixie Wings!?_" she suddenly yelled, pointing as Mikan blushed a deep red colour. The three teenage boys turned to stare at Misaki in confusion,

"Yeah... so?" Natsume asked as Misaki hesitated, staring at Mikan's wings with a lot of concern whilst Mikan looked down, biting her lip.

"Oh yeah, I forgot... I'm the only one who studies Fairyology... eurgh. Anyway, faeries have mainly six different stages of wings, which shows their status. Pixie Wings, Fairy Wings, Golden Wings, Prince or Princess Wings, King or Queen Wings and finally, Angel Wings. Most fairies only go up to Fairy Wings, but the rest show really high status, especially Angel Wings." Misaki explained as Mikan sighed. She was good. Really good.

"Pixie Wings are for children faeries, or Flower Faeries, but once a child turns twelve or thirteen years old, they grow their fairy wings. Some faeries gain Golden Wings, which would normally count for respected people like Dukes or Mayors. Some lucky faeries gain the Prince or Princess Wings, which means they are in line for the throne," she stated with a small smile as Tsubasa scratched his head,

"So the faeries do throning differently to us, huh?... Cool!" cried Tsubasa, whilst Misaki tutted, hands on her hips.

"No, not cool. When in line for the throne, on the day the current King or Queen retires, called the Crowning Ceremony, faeries with Prince or Princess wings all take turns to sit on the throne. Whoever is the chosen King or Queen will grow thier royal wings when they sit on the throne. Of course, it is the throne that decides on who is the next King or Queen, not the wings or votes. The rest of the faeries who had Prince or Princess Wings grow Golden Wings instead of King or Queen Wings." Misaki said as Mikan lost her grip on the flowers, letting them fall as Ruka, Natsume and Tsubasa turned to stare at her,

Ruka then turned back to Misaki,

"What about the last stage? The Angel Wings?" Ruka asked her as she stared at Mikan thoughtfully,

"Angel Wings are known as the Holy Wings for faeries. Only the pure hearted and extremely gifted faeries can gain these wings, but as far as I know from my studies, no fairy has gained these in over a thousand years! They are probably a myth, but you never know. All I remember from the Fairyology book is that '_something special can help you...'_ but then it cut off there. Angel Wings are probably the only Wings that can sprout by a potion or a spell." Misaki explained as everyone stared at her. Natsume yawned with boredom,

He then looked at Mikan coldly as Tsubasa stared at her small Pixie Wings with interest,

"So your wings haven't grown yet? I guess you're the black sheep of the flock." Tsubasa joked as Mikan glared at him, then watched as fire hit the guys' hat, and then his hair.

"Oh, just shut up, baldy! They're just stupid wings! The status of how they look makes no difference! They still make the faeries fly, right? So what's the big deal. The girl shouldn't care about her wings, just so long as she's okay with herself." snapped the fire caster as Mikan turned to stare at him,

"Hey, that's true! There's nothing worse than hating yourself! If you hate yourself, then you'll never be happy! Anyhow, what's your name, kid?" asked Misaki brightly, holding out her hand as Mikan smiled and took the hand to shake it.

"Mikan... Princess Mikan! Nice to meet you!" she said brightly as Misaki grinned,

"A princess? Ni-ice!~ Well, my name's Misaki, the dork with the fire head over there is my fiancé, Tsubasa. This angel," she grinned, pointing to Ruka, "Is Ruka. Then that one, the moody guy, is Natsume, our King in waiting! He's mean, but can be nice... around his little sister." beamed the pink haired girl as Mikan smiled,

"Nice to meet you all!" she cried happily...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Okies, that is the end of the first ever chapter of Pixie Wings and Other Things. Hope you enjoyed it. I loved writing it, I wrote it down on paper a few months back because I wanted to make another fairy like story. This will be a sweet romantic one, of course. Wait for the next chapter, and thank you! Goodbye goodbye goodbye!~

_**Lots of love, Blue!~**_

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	2. In A Far Away Land

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Mikan is a young fairy princess, but is also the joke of her whole kingdom. Having Pixie Wings as a teenage fairy is not a good thing to most, but Mikan loves her wings very much! Then Mikan meets some people who don't really care about her wing status... A group of teenage wizards! So now Mikan has friends to hang around with, but Natsume, the moody prince, doesn't seem all too thrilled to have her with them... NXM

Me: I disclaim to owning _all_ rights to Gakuen Alice because I am purely not Tachibana Higuchi! If I was, well... I'd be the fabulous creator of Gakuen Alice! But... I'm not! So, c'est la vie, thats how its gonna be!

So, if I do any stupid mistakes what-so-ever, like typo errors, then don't hesitate to point it out, okay? I'm a _useless_ editor, its a well known fact! Read _any_ one of my stories and there will be so may typo errors an editor would faint at the sight of them all! Anyways, if I have any typo errors, you tell me. I won't bite your head off. Haha!~

**Chapter Two:**** ... In a Far Away Land...**

_The status of wings in the realm of the faeries is very important, but in the realm of the Wizards, wings are not at all important. Wizards and Faeries live seperate lives, and rarely do they mingle with each other. In this story, one young fairy with the lowest status of wings decides to break all the rules of her fairy kingdom, and she becomes one with the Wizarding Kingdom..._

"So, are you a flower fairy?" asked Tsubasa, the tall and grinning boy of the group. He was the tallest by far, even when sitting down in the grassy meadow as Mikan pulled up the flowers around her, and twined them all into a wreath that she could put on her head,

"No, I'm not a flower fairy. I'm one of the normal faeries!" cried out Mikan, setting the different coloured, different smelling wreath upon her head as Misaki stared at her with wonder filled eyes,

"But flower faeries also have Pixie Wings, right? We would have thought you _were_ one, because you enjoy flowers and such. Not many normal faeries act the way you do," she replied as Mikan nodded, then started to make another head wreath for Misaki, who watched in amazement.

"My mom's the same as I am, but my grandfather, from my fathers side, is _very_ different to us. We just have a passion for flowers. Knowing my history, someone from my mothers side probably eloped with a flower fairy, and that was how we came to love the flowers!" smiled Mikan happily, looping tiger lilies and fallen cherry blossoms with the golden brown leaves of the tree's. Natsume, who wasn't paying much attention to the new group member, rolled his eyes.

"Flowers this, flowers that... it is so _annoying_. Why don't you just go back to your own kingdom and hang around with the flower faeries if you find the flowers so interesting? Just pick some of these and go." muttered the moody prince as Ruka stared at him, then back at Mikan, who simply smiled.

"But I can't be around the flower fairies. They are very specific with who they fly around with, actually. Flower Faeries do not like Pixie-Winged, dust brained faeries like me! Even though I have the same passion for flowers, they will not converse with me. It's complicated, but they pretty much only talk to the Golden Winged, or Angels." Mikan explained as everyone nodded, interested. Natsume wasn't bothered with this new ounce of knowledge, and Misaki already knew it from her Fairyology studies.

"Whatever, just... do whatever. I'm going _home_." Natsume snapped, standing up abrubtly. Ruka, Natsume's best friend, quickly stood up, ready to follow him wherever he went, whilst Mikan just stared, then smiled her sweet little smile.

"Okay, then, but just in case we never see each other again, I want you to have _this_." Mikan told him, and she flew towards him, holding her hands out as he raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was that she was giving him. When her hands opened, Natsume saw that she was holding a rose bud. It hadn't even bloomed yet, which wasn't very appealing.

"What the...?" he said, staring up at her coldly as she beamed, then pushed the crimson bud into his hands,

"It's a rose bud from my kingdom! Let it bloom, okay? Because once it has bloomed, it will become the most beautiful rose you'll have ever seen! I've given it some special fairy dust so that it will live on until the day you die!" Mikan beamed as Natsume raised his eyebrow,

"You're giving me a useless flower that I could just cast a spell on myself...? How trivial and pathetic of a fairy, I would have expected much more, especially from a _princess_." he spat as Mikan winced, whilst Misaki and Tsubasa stared at their prince, a little horrified.

"Natsume! You shouldn't _say_ that! She put a lot of thought into her gift... I think." Misaki said, hesitating as she turned to stare at Mikan, who was still smiling politely.

"Don't worry! We all find different things important. I find flowers very important, and if I recieved even the most simple flower as a gift, I would be very happy with what I got, because I love flowers so much! Maybe your prince finds something more interesting," Mikan said, turning to stare at him, tilting her head slightly as Natsume shrugged, stuffing the rose bud into his pocket,

"Whatever. I'm leaving now. Come on, Ruka!" he snapped, and he turned around. Ruka quickly followed, whilst Tsubasa and Misaki hesitated, staring at the fairy princess who Natsume was being so _rude_ to.

"Sorry about that, Mikan, Natsume is just... a little, er... what do you call it?" asked Misaki, turning to her hat-wearing fiancé who had no idea what to say, just like Misaki. He then spouted a few words that came into his head,

"Rude? Rash... Perplexing? Mean? Over-reactive?... Cold-hearted and brain-dead. Ah! Hot-headed!" yelled Tsubasa, grinning as Misaki gasped, nodding with her hands covering her mouth,

"_That's_ the word, Tsubasa! Yes, he is too hot-headed for words. No wonder his main power is fire! So, sorry about the hot-headed prince of the Wizarding Kingdom, Mikan. Thats just the way he is, ever since he was little." Misaki said as Mikan shook her head whilst creating a necklace made of flowers and grass,

"No worries, I'm kind of used to it, but listening to what he has to say... he is _far_ nicer than any fairy I've come across so far. Don't worry about it, I'm not at all offended. Thanks for actually being near me, though." Mikan said as Misaki and Tsubasa smiled,

"Hey, it wasn't a problem! You're a fun kid, Mikan. Some of those blasted faeries should actually take a while to _listen_ to what you have to say, and to look on the inside." Tsubasa grinned as Mikan blushed, nodding,

"I hear you! Anyway, I have to get going. My mom and grandfather will be wondering where I am right about now." she told her new found friends as they nodded. Mikan flitted off, waving to her friends as they waved back. Mikan returned to her realm, and back to the palace where her grandfather was awaiting her...

----------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at the palace of the Wizarding Kingdom, Natsume and Ruka entered the throne room, where a raven haired man was sitting on a large red and gold throne, watching the doors intently. Once Natsume entered, however, the sullen man changed...

"My _son!~ _There you are, my darling son! I thought you were lost! Oh, where did you go!? I missed yoooooooooooooooooou!~" cried the king as Natsume frowned, disgusted at what his father was doing,

"And _this_ is why we never tell him _anything_!" Natsume hissed to Ruka as Ruka nodded. He already knew Natsume's father well, as he was Natsume's best friend, and also, Natsume's father was best friends with Ruka's father and mother. The King skipped towards his son, tears evident in his eyes,

"Hi, dad," Natsume muttered darkly as his father stared at him, then beamed,

"So you're all _right_? Where did you go, then? I was worried. You know, you should always tell daddy where you're going, or I could get the wrong idea and think that you've been kidnapped or ran away! But why you would want to run away is beyond me,~" laughed the king as Natsume glared at him,

"_There are a few reasons why I would want to run away..._ I went outstide with Ruka. What, can't I have my own freedom? I'm almost seventeen years old, I can look after myself!" snapped Natsume coldly as his father sighed, nodding.

"Oh I know, I know... but Natsume, you are a _prince_, and so many peope are willing to go to great lengths to hurt or even sell you, so it is important that you tell the guards or myself where you are going off to, just so that we can keep regular checks on you," said his father as Natsume rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Whatever... I can just blow them up with one of my spells. Remember, I'm the best spell caster and alchemist around the whole of the Wizarding realm. There won't be a person who can master my skills unless someone finds out how to," Natsume muttered as his father gasped, realising that Natsume was right.

"Oh, yes! You _are_ correct, my son! Maybe we should call the Wizarding Book of Records to get you in there, so that no criminal dares to even think about taking you hostage..." the king said, getting a phone. Natsume kicked it out of his hand,

"I don't _need_ anymore publicity than I already have, father! Eurgh, I'm going to my room..." he muttered, but before he could, Natsume was rolled over by a raven haired girl a few years younger than he was, and he fell to the ground as Ruka and the King tried not to laugh,

"Natsume! You're back! Where did you go!" cried the girl, who was also the princess and Natsume's younger sister, Aoi, who Natsume just so happened to treasure very much.

"Oh, Aoi... it's just you. I went to the meadow. You don't have to worry about me, you know. I can take care of myself," he told her as she stood up, and so did Natsume, who dusted himself off as Aoi stared at him, hands on her hips.

"Natsume Hyuuga, I wasn't worried! I just wanted to _know_ where you were, is all! Next time, bring me back a present!" she snapped as Natsume tried not to laugh. His sister was very frank,

"Sure sure, whatever you want, Aoi. Anyway, may I go to my room now, _please_? I'm tired," Natsume mumbled, leaving everyone. Ruka followed Natsume towards a nearby door, and then up a flight of stairs. They came to Natsume's room, where he went straight to the window, and stared out at the royal garden.

"You know, Natsume... maybe we should have told your father that you met a fairy today," Ruka said as Natsume turned to his best friend, frowning darkly. Ruka winced, and closed his mouth.

"No way! My father would just be his usual stupid self, anyway... Why would I bring up that stupid fairy?" asked Natsume. Ruka shrugged, then turned to leave as Natsume took something out of his pocket. He stared at the small rose bud, wondering if it would grow?...

Back in the fairy kingdom, Mikan was in her room, where she had been told to stay when she told her grandfather where she had been. There was pretty much no point in lieing to her grandfather, because he would get a fairy who knew potions to get the truth out of Mikan anyway, so, she said she had gone out of the kingdom limits, and spent the afternoon in a field, picking flowers.

And if she had lied, her grandfather would have seen the wild flower wreath she had made and the necklace, too. The only one who seemed to be happy with where she had been was her flower loving mother.

As Mikan lay on her bed, she stared at all the pictures of flowers around her room. She would miss the palace when she had to move out, she knew that much... but she dearly hoped that she could live in a small cottage with her mother, and grow beautiful flowers. Much more beautiful than what the flower faeries grew, of course. Mikan sighed to herself.

The door to her bedroom opened, and in came her mother with a pretty smile on her face,

"You're very quiet today, Mikan... you know, you shouldn't listen to whatever your grandfather said to you, it's just absolute nonsense, but... why _were_ you in the meadow of the wizarding realm today? I'm curious," Yuka asked, sitting on Mikan's bed as Mikan sat up, smiling.

"I wanted to pick the wild flowers. I met some wizards, too." she told her mother, whos large eyes widened,

"Really? What were they like? Were they nice?... Were they mean to you?" asked Yuka, even more curious than before as Mikan laughed.

"They were _very_ nice, except for one, though. There was a Dukes son and his fiancé, a blonde haired boy and a prince. The prince was the meanest. I gave him a rose bud, though! And the girl, the dukes sons fiancé, studies Fairyology, so she knew about my wing status! None of them cared, though. It's the first ever time that I have been accepted, mom! It felt so... nice," Mikan smiled, hugging herself as Yuka stared at her, then smiled. She put a hand on Mikan's face,

"I'm happy that you've finally found some people to talk to, Mikan. It took me a long time, and you, too... but I think you've found some true friends, friends who can actually see the _real_ you. Don't let them go," smiled the happy Yuka as Mikan stared at her beautiful mother,

"But... they're from the Wizarding kingdom... isn't that a bad thing?" asked Mikan. Yuka shook her head,

"No it isn't, Mikan. Whoever you make friends with is your choice, not mine, and definately not your grandfathers. People told me I wasn't allowed to fall in love with your father, but I decided to do what I wanted to do, and I ignored those people. If you like the wizards, then take a chance and be with them, if that's what you want. I'll be rooting for you, all the way! You need them, Mikan, more than you think. You need friends." Yuka explained, playing with her daughters hair as Mikan smiled, then hugged her mother tightly,

"Thanks, mom, you're the best!" smiled Mikan as Yuka nodded knowingly,

"I know! Now, let's sort your hair out, Mikan... oh, and what will you be doing for the crowning ceremony? Are you going to make your homemade flower wreaths again, or will you do the flower dance with the flower faeries this year? You should really dance, because you're so good at it!" beamed Yuka as she brushed her daughters hair. Mikan sighed to herself, then.

"I don't know, mom... not many people would _want_ me at the crowning ceremony, because of my Wing status. I don't think I should go this year," mumbled Mikan sadly. Yuka just tutted,

"Mikan, that's no positive attitude! Earlier today, I think I remember that you were so _proud _of your wings, but now you're doubting them! You should go to the crowning ceremony, and be the belle of the ball, basically. I don't want to see your sad face anymore, okay?" asked Yuka as Mikan stared for a moment, then beamed, causing Yuka to beam, too. She wrapped her arms around her daughter,

"Yay! You're all smiley again, honey! I'm so happy!" laughed Yuka happily as Mikan smiled, hugging her mother back tightly. Mikan found it so hard to _not_ smile around her carefree and loving mother...

"King Sakura, your grandaughter is a disgrace to the fairy kingdom, just like her mother is!" cried a fairy duke who was at the council meeting which was held for the royals and the Golden Wings. Mikan's grandfather sighed as everyone protested against his sons daughter,

"I do agree! She is a mishap to all fairies! Those _wings_ of her are just so embarassing to see! And her attitude!... Appalling! My daughter Sumire tells me that she was _rude _to her for no reason at all! I will not accept that, even from a royal, even though she won't be one for long," cried a perm haired woman, smirking as Mikan's grandfather frowned. He didn't really like the comments that his grandaughter was getting, they were very harsh,

"Now now, Mrs. Shouda, my dear Mikan would _never_ say anything horrible to another fairy unless she had a good reason to. Now, I know for a fact that your Sumire can be very catty and mouthy when she wants to, and she has never appreciated Mikan, princess or not. Your Sumire started it, and I know that is true, because my daughter-in-law told me that Mikan was angry about what Sumire said about my son!" snapped the old king as Mrs. Shouda glared at him. Her husband stepped in, smirking,

"Well, whatever our daughter must have said is pretty much true, isn't it? I mean, your son was stupid to think that marrying a petty Pixie Winged woman would make good out of it. It was an absolute joke! And then they had that child... I actually feel sorry for you, being lumbered with two jokes. Your son got out while he still could, thankfully, but you... you'll be stuck with them for a while," he laughed coldly as the grandfather growled. The Duke then stood up, clearing his throat heavily,

"Ahem! Putting the fight aside, I want to say something... once we have the new King or Queen, you and your family must move out, and also, I ask that you make sure your daughter in law and her child leave the kingdom at once. We can't have anymore of those Pixie's degrading our wonderful country! Of course, you can stay, but those women... you _do_ agree, I presume?" asked the Duke, grinning maliciously as the King stared at him, lowering his head.

"I feel that... that that is too much. I mean... Mikan is my _grandaughter_, and I cherish her... how can you exile her and her mother? They may not be right according to you, but they have good hearts. They haven't done _anything_ wrong," he said as the Duke laughed, and so did the other council.

"Oh, really? Give it time, and they will. Yuka did enough in the past, and what about Mikan? She is, after all, Yuka's daughter. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, you know." the Duke laughed as everyone around him agreed with cackles and giggles that filled the room. The king glared at the Duke,

"You are not so innocent yourself, Duke. I remember correctly that you used to cause Yuka more damage than most, and Mrs. Shouda, you tried to rip off her very wings as a teenager! You are no better than your children or what Yuka once was. I will not stand for it if you try to criticise my grandaughter and her mother!" he snapped coldly as the Duke furrowed his brow, staring at the old king darkly,

"Really? Well, then... so be it. Once the new King or Queen takes the throne, you shall also be in exile with those jokes you call family! Good day, your majesty!" the Duke spat out, and he flew off, others following him with sly smirks on their faces, glad that they would finally be rid of the Pixie Winged people who they loathed...

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Thats a wrap! Oh my, Mikan's grandfather actually cares for Yuka! Yay!~ Anyways, this chapter was hard to concoct, because I had the first chapter readily written down. This one though... It was all on the top of my little nogging!~ Anyways, hope you had fun reading, so Adios!~

_**Lots of love, Blue!~**_

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	3. There Was

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

The fairy council want Mikan and Yuka out of the kingdom! Of course, the King is keeping it a secret from his family, but when will he tell them? Mikan, meanwhile, has been spending much more time in the Wizarding Kingdom, even though she's not supposed to go there. Her friends are close to her, and she cherishes them dearly... But how will Natsume's father react to a fairy in the Wizarding Kingdom...? NXM

Moi: Disclaimed! I hereby disclaim any rights to owning Gakuen Aliceor faeries. If I owned any of these things, I would be rich, happy and making manga! But I'm not the creator, I am _not_ rich, and I am not creating manga. I love to draw manga, especially chibis! I'm always drawing, despite how bad I am at drawing! Kyacha!~

Okies, if I do any mistakes like miss-spellings or typo errors, tell me, because my editing skills are _bad_. If I don't do any, then tell me! But guess what? There will be about one typo error in this story, I think! If there is, booya! If there isn't?... Booya!

Okies, on with the story, and if you read my boring notes, well... Yay! You read them! Thankies! If not... Yay! You skipped them because you want to read the story so bad!  
Wow... You must like my stories to actually _read_ them... Haha!

By the way... The Wizards are the same height as the faeries, as in, the size of a human thumb, I would say. Their world, though, has flowers smaller than themselves and all that. In other words, it's like us humans, but much much smaller! I watched Thumbelina too much and the out come is this story was created!

**Chapter Three:**** ... There Was...**

_In the Wizarding Kingdom, the position of who becomes the next ruler is not as complicated as that of the Fairy Kingdom. Instead of the throne choosing out of millions of fairies, whoever is the King may choose between a son or daughter to take over the throne, or choose a close relative. If not, he may choose a friend, one of his workers or even a random villager to take over his position of the throne. In Prince Natsume's case, his father has chosen him, as he thinks that Natsume is fit to be the next King, but in Mikan Sakura's case, she can never become the Queen..._

"You must have it tough, you know? I mean... being a fairy with the lowest rated wings. It must be absolute _havock_!" cried Misaki as she, Ruka, Tsubasa and a really bored Natsume sat in the flowery meadow that sunny day, talking to each other. Mikan had become really close to the wizards ever since she first met them, and enjoyed every moment she spent with them, even though she wasn't supposed to be in the wizarding kingdom.

Her grandfather had forbidden it, of course, but Yuka, being the layed back and loving mother she was, urged Mikan to go and meet her new-found friends, and to also bring back some lovely wild flowers, because Yuka just _loved_ wild-flowers as much as Mikan did.

"It's tough, but I do manage it very well. My mom had the same hard times I do right now, but she was such a fighter, way back then! When she met my father, though, she decided to change when she realised he was in love with her. Apparently, I am so much more like my father, because I won't fight, I'll just try to defend myself, plus, my wings are great! These little things make me different from everyone else! I don't want to be similar," chirped Mikan as Misaki smiled. Tsubasa, who was laying on the grass with his eyes closed, grinned,

"Well, that's great! There's nothing worse than hating yourself, kiddo! I say be happy with what you've got. At least you have the dignity to stick up for yerself," grinned Tsubasa as Mikan sighed, staring at the ground,

"Yeah... but the kids now _know_ that I don't care what they say about me, so, they talk about my parents, instead. They say a lot of mean things, so I try to fight them, but my mom always knows, so I can't even lay a punch on one of them. They are so frustrating, those obnoxious faeries!" muttered Mikan sdly as Misaki hooked her arms around Mikan's shoulders, smiling gently,

"Don't worry! Those sort of people aren't worth talking to! Anyway, let's go and get some ice cream! I'm craving it right now! Who's up for it?" asked Misaki with a big smile plastered to her face as Mikan blinked, tilting her head.

"What? Where can we get ice cream!?" she asked excitedly to the pink haired beauty,

"In Central Town, of course! It's the main shopping area for us Wizard folk. It's great!... And don't give me that face, Mikan! You can come along, seeing as you have the permission of his royal lazyness!" Misaki grinned, pointing to Natsume, who just glared at the pink haired fiancé of Tsubasa, a random grass stalk in his mouth, arms folded as he scowled. Mikan stared at the scowling boy, realising that he was actually quite cute, in a sullen, moody kind of way...

"Oi, who the heck are _you_ calling lazy? Remember, I can just get your head cut off or exile you, so be quiet! And I never gave the fairy permission!" snapped Natsume as Misaki poked her tongue out at the moody prince,

"Oh, quiet yourself, princey! It isn't like you want the title to rule, anyway... but come on! Let the kid have a little fun! She's never been past this meadow, and anyway... maybe we can see the fairy kingdom one day, how about that?" asked Misaki, staring at a beaming Mikan.

"Oh, yay! I would like that very very much! People would actually see that I have friends... but then they would be mean to you guys, too... oh, tha'ts bad," mumbled Mikan as Misaki rolled her eyes, whilst Tsubasa sat up and yawned,

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. Anyway, now I want ice cream, so lets go! I can already taste the peanut butter and caramel," Tsubasa said as Misaki laughed, standing up with Tsubasa's help. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then let him walk off as Mikan watched them. They were very loving. Was that what _her_ mother had been like with her father...?

As they all walked towards the kingdom of the wizards, Mikan walked alongside Misaki,

"Misaki?" asked Mikan. Misaki smiled, staring at her younger friend,

"Yes?" she asked,

"You and Tsubasa have been together a long time, right? And you love each other so much, it's like a story book love." Mikan said as Misaki paused, then beamed, giggling girlishly,

"Yes, we have been together a _very_ long time... we've known each other since wizdagarten. He was the very cheeky and boisterous rebel who just-so happened to be the Dukes son, and I was the good but also cheeky daughter of a wealthy family. We grew up together, then when we were in our early teens, our parents announced that we were going to be fiancé's! I was shocked, and so was Tsubasa. He fainted when he heard that, but one night, he told me that he was _glad_ I was going to be his bride, because he liked me and told me that he didn't want any normal housewife. He said I was very exciting and that he loved me. And so concludes the love story until we marry!" blushed Misaki as Mikan smiled, staring at her friend,

"Wow... that is the so romantic! You two are like the ultimate lovers!" giggled Mikan, but Misaki shook her head,

"Oh, no, we aren't... there are a lot of lovers in the world, Mikan, some better than others. Tsubasa and I love each other, yes, but that doesn't mean that we are better than others. I'm just happy that I have that dope in my life, you know!" she smiled as Mikan laughed. Misaki was blushing as they walked. They had a different conversation when they finally reached the gate to the Wizarding Kingdom, where Central Town would be. Natsume seemed disgruntled, and wasn't talking. Tsubasa was talking with Ruka, who couldn't get a word in edgeways, so Misaki thumped him on the head to shut her talkative fiancé up.

"Owww! You shouldn't _do_ that to your future husband!" snapped Tsubasa as Misaki smirked, then gently kissed his forehead,

"Oh, stop being such a baby, Tsubasa! Let poor old Ruka get a word in, okay? If you do, I promise you a double scoop of peanut butter caramel ice cream with extra sprinkles!" promised Misaki as Tsubasa shut his mouth. He took his harsh fiancé's hand in his, and walked with her to the ice cream parlers, whilst Mikan stared around the huge town, amazed at what it looked like. It was very different to her town. She saw a lot of wizards walking, and then stopping to stare at her as she walked past. Mikan blushed.

"Oi, idiot... you're bright red," Natsume said, pointing to Mikan's face as she gasped, her hands on her face,

"Everybody is staring at me... I'm kind of embarassed," she muttered as Natsume rolled his eyes, taking a hand out of his pocket and grabbing her wrist. He pulled her along, muttering to himself,

"You would've thought the dumb fairy would be used to this kind of attention because of her wings. She complains about it enough..." he muttered as Mikan listened to him, then smiled to herself shyly, her face still magenta red as Natsume dragged her with him. Despite his mean demeanour, Natsume was actually quite sweet, Mikan thought to herself...

"Wow! That ice cream was delicious!" cried Mikan happily as Misaki smiled, whilst feeding tsubasa. He had wanted to be fed by his future wife, so, Misaki did it... for a price. Tsubasa couldn't talk until _all_ three bowls of peanut butter caramel ice cream were finished.

"Glad you liked it. The cooks in the Wizarding Kingdom are some of the _best_ in the whole world! Especially the head Chef's daughter, Anna. What she cooks up is _amazing_. She's only sixteen years old, you know?" Misaki said as Mikan's eyes widened. Ruka nodded, finishing off his pistachio ice cream. Natsume had not ordered ice cream, instead, his feet were resting on the table, hands behind his head with his eyes closed,

"This kingdom is so nice! It's so different from the kingdom I live in... it really doesn't compare, you know? I wish my kingdom was like this..." mumbled Mikan as Misaki smiled sadly, then patted Mikan's head.

"It's the same wherever you go, Mikan. People will stare, different or not. The people here stare at you because they haven't seen a fairy in such a long time, but they don't question it because you're with the prince of this kingdom... if we went to your kingdom, I bet you everyone else would stare, seeing as we don't have wings." Misaki explained as Mikan nodded, then sighed to herself,

"I know... oh, well." she mumbled. Natsume suddnely kicked his feet off the table, and stood up, staring at everyone as he stretched his arms,

"I need to go to the library," he muttered. Ruka, being the faithful friend that he was, stood up quickly as Mikan stared at the two boys standing, then at Misaki and Tsubasa, who was still trying to finish his three bowls of ice cream. Misaki beamed,

"Okay, but take Mikan with you. I don't want her to be stuck here, bored out of her wits whilst waiting for Tsubasa to finish his three bowls of ice cream!" Misaki joked as Mikan stared at her,

"Oh, no, I don't mind..." she started, but Misaki shook her head,

"Nope, don't say anything! You'll go with them! Go see the library, check everything out, our history, your history... Whatever! I want you to see a lot of things, and anyway, as long as Natsume's with you, noo one will try to kick you out." explained Misaki as Mikan smiled, standing up and nodding.

"Okay, and thanks for the ice cream!" she said happily, then turned around and ran after Natsume, who didn't particularly want her there, but had no other choice. He let Mikan follow him and Ruka to his favourite library where he purchased all of his manga books...

"Wo-ow... your kingdom's library is _enormous_... oh, there's a whole section on Fairyology and Wizardology! Not even _our_ libraries have this much information on our own kingdom! You guys must be the Kings of History!" smiled Mikan as she stood at the Fairyology section, looking at all the different titles on the different leather-bound books. Natsume shrugged as he picked up a manga he found interesting, tucking it under his arm.

"I guess... anyway, hurry it up, I wanna get going before someone finds out where I am. I don't really _want_ to go back to the palace in a hurry," he muttered as Mikan stared at him, shaking her head and searching through the books.

"Whatever... hey, can I check one of these out? I want to look up some fairy history, if that's okay with you, of course." Mikan said, hesitating as Natsume stared at her for a short moment, then turned around.

"Yeah sure, whatever... just choose one and make it quick, I haven't got all day!" Natsume snapped moodily as Mikan smiled, grabbing a book quickly. She followed him towards the check out counter, where a pretty violet eyed girl was reading a book, feet high on the desk. Natsume cleared his throat loudly as she turned a page of her inventions weekly,

"_Ahem_!" snapped Natsume, again and again as Mikan stifled a giggle. Natsume glared at her when she unsuccessfully concealed a snort. He then turned back to the rude but very pretty librarian, who was glaring over her magazine,

"Oi! Inventor girl, check these stupid books out right now or I'll set the guards on you!" snapped Natsume, louder than he had anticipated as Mikan smirked, staring at the pretty girl who just shrugged, then closed her magazine and lifted her feet off of the desk. She folded her arms, an eyebrow arched as she stared at Natsume, Ruka and Mikan.

"Look, I don't neccesarily _care_ if you set your little guards on me, _princey_. I can just whap them with the Baka Gun turbo 360 and be done with it... now, how may I help you?" she asked as Natsume glared at her, and slammed his manga book on the counter. Mikan bit her lip, then placed the book she was borrowing on top of his manga book. Natsume was still glaring at the inventor girl,

"May I check these out," he hissed as she nodded, and checked the books out, then picked up he rmagazine once again. She took a quick glance at Mikan with slight interest,

"A fairy, hm? I see... your little love affair will be an air raising one," the monetonous young girl said sourly as Natsume growled, whilst Mikan gasped with a small blush on her face,

"Oh, no, we aren't..." she started, but Natsume, being Natsume, burst a huge fairy bubble in Mikan's mind,

"You aren't funny, you know! I am _not_ with that stupid little air head, you got it? Now go back to working, you lazy good for nothing Wizard!" snapped the angry Natsume as the calm and quiet girl stared at him with an interested little smirk playing on her face,

"How interesting to see the famous prince Natsume Hyuuga get all worked up over a little joke about who he's dating... do you _really_ like her that much?" she muttered, the smirk playing on her lips as Natsume growled, his hand clenched in a fist,

"Shut up! I don't even _know_ her!" he yelled. Mikan then clamped a hand over his mouth, and smiled pleasently towards the raven haired beauty who frowned who grinned slightly.

"How... lovely." she said to herself, whilst Mikan dragged Natsume away, an alarmed looking Ruka following quickly. The inventress watched with a lot of interest, then returned to her interesting magazine...

"OW!" snapped Mikan loudly, waving her hand about manically as Natsume wiped his mouth, glaring at the weird fairy who was hopping about, her hand red. Natsume, in an attempt to get away from Mikan's grasp, bit her hand... hard.

"Well you shouldn't have covered my mouth, you idiotic fairy! You got what you deserved." muttered Natsume as Mikan, tears trailing down her face, kissed her bitten hand, then turned to glare at Natsume,

"Hey! If you at least _learned_ to be a little bit more polite to other people, I wouldn't have done that! I mean that girl didn't do anything to _you_, and yet you were so _rude!_" cried Mikan as Natsume snorted,

"Yeah, right... she was rude to _me_ first! She ignored me, then mocked and joked me to my face, the nerve of her! And you're just as bad, yelling at me!" snapped Natsume as Mikan folded her arms,

"Yeah, well, what about you? I am a princess, you aren't the only royal, you know! Do you see _me_ yelling at everybody? No. Do you see me being the grouchy one? _NO!_ You seriously need to learn how to be a bit kinder, Natsume!" snapped Mikan as the dark haired, hot headed prince glared at the brunette princess,

"Maybe I don't _want_ to be kinder, little girl. I know, you should act less stupid, and then I'll be a little bit happier that there isn't an air head hanging around me!" he yelled back as Mikan pouted, then flipped her long pigtails over her shoulders,

"I won't change for the likes of _you_! And I'm not such a air head, you just don't know me enough yet!" cried Mikan as Natsume stuck his tongue out, and Mikan poked hers out straight back. Ruka was feeling the presence of bad tension between the fairy princess and wizard prince, and decided to step in.

"Er, Natsume, Mikan, please don't fight... you'll cause a scene." hissed Ruka quietly as the two glared at each other once more before turning their backs on each other and folding their arms, angry looks doning their faces.

"I think _that_ thing has _already_ caused a scene here!" snarled Natsume angrily as Mikan's eyes widened. She turned around, fists clenched and fire in her eyes.

"_Thing_? THING! Are you calling me a, a _thing_? Why you _pompous_, egotistical... argh!" screeched Mikan, turning on her heel and walking forwards as Natsume turned around, arching an eyebrow.

"And where are _you_ going?" he asked snappily. Mikan stomped her foot and turned.

"I'm going _home_!" she snapped back, turning back and ready to leave when Natsume pointed something out to her with a smug voice.

"The exit's the _other_ way, dust brain." Natsume muttered, pointing his finger in the direction Mikan needed to go. The fairy stuck her tongue back out at Natsume, then stomped off towards the exit to leave, book in hand.

"And _don't_ forget to bring that book back!" he yelled out loudly as Mikan waved a hand angrily, not turning to face Natsume as he and Ruka watched her leave in anger. Misaki would be sure to yell at Natsume when he showed up without that fairy...

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"Oh, honey, you're home! Did you have a nice time with your friends, today?" Yuka asked the minute Mikan walked into the palace. Mikan smiled with a nod, hoping her mother bought it. She didn't want Yuka to get overly worried about the fight Mikan had with the Wizard Prince.

"It was fine, mom, thanks. I just need a rest if that's okay." Mikan lied. She actually wanted to go and read the book on Fairy History she had obtained. She hoped that it had some explanation to as why she still had her Pixie Wings and if she could grow some other wings. She hoped so...

"Of course, but make sure your grandfather doesn't see you, he's been in a bad mood all day..." started Yuka, but as soon as she'd finished saying that, Mikan's grandfather had come swooping in, angered. He walked straight up to Mikan.

"Mikan, where have you _been_ all morning!? I have been looking for you all day and you are nowhere to be soon! You have been with those, those... those _wizards_ again, haven't you!? Why, you're wasting your time! You should be here, studying and trying to grow your Princess wings, not galavanting away with outsiders!" snapped her grandfather as Mikan clenched a fist tightly.

"But I _can't_ grow my princess wings! Haven't you noticed? I've been trying for nearly fifteen years, Grandfather! They won't _ever_ grow, so just accept me as I am... or is it so hard to accept your own grandaughter who has just Pixie wings, Grandfather?" she answered quietly as Yuka casted her eyes to the ground sadly whilst the King gasped loudly, his mouth agape.

"Now Mikan, I never said that..." he started, but Mikan narrowed her eyes at him darkly,

"No, but you must wish it, mustn't you? Your only grandaughter, a Princess without her Princess Wings... I must be a disappointment to you, seeing as I am _nothing_ like my father at all. I'm like mother, who still has her own Pixie wings. That's all we are to you... disappointments. We all disappoint you, don't we?" she whispered quietly as Yuka walked towards Mikan, grabbing her arm.

"Mikan, that's enough," Yuka whispered, but Mikan wasn't finished.

"No, it isn't... why, Grandfather? Why do you want me to grow up so fast? I've been trying all my _life_ and yet I don't have anything to show for it. I just want my freedom, and when the new King or Queen takes the throne, I'll have my freedom, but I don't _want_ to grow up anymore! I want to be with the people who accept me instead of here!" yelled Mikan loudly, causing the maids to turn and look at her with questioning looks. Her Grandfather was completely shocked by what she said.

"Mikan, how _dare_ you talk to me this way! You know why you must take the throne! For centuries, our family line has kept this throne and it's your turn!" he told her angrily as she stared up at him, shaking her head.

"But I don't want the throne... I want to be accepted by people for who I am... not for my wing status or my heritage." she told him pointedly. Her Grandfather took an angry step forward,

"Now you listen here, Mikan. You are a Princess and you _will_ keep to your studies! I don't want you in that Wizarding world anymore!" he snapped loudly. Mikan gasped at that, "You have changed for the worse, and it's because you made _friends_. Princesses don't need friends... they need to stay in the Palace where they belong! Why, if my son had done that, then he'd probably still be alive today!" he yelled, and with that, Yuka and Mikan's eyes widened in horror.

"Are you saying that... we're mistakes?" whispered Mikan, tears in her eyes. Her Grandfather paused, realising what he'd just said.

"You... you hate us! You always have, haven't you? Why? Why am I even here! I don't want to be in the Palace anymore, I don't want to be in this Kingdom! I hate it!" cried Mikan, running off as Yuka followed her without hesitating. A maid rushed towards the elderly king as he sat down on the stone step of the staircase. He deeply regretted his words...

"Mikan, come out of there! Don't keep yourself locked in that room, it's no good for you!" Yuka yelled through Mikan's bedroom door. Her daughter had barricaded herself in through her anger and sadness. She didn't want to face anyone in the palace when she was so distraught.

"No! I'm not coming out... I hate this place!" she yelled back as Yuka put her head against the door, sighing to herself.

"I know you do, darling... so do I." answered Yuka quietly as Mikan blinked her tears back, then slowly walked towards the door.

"Then why did you saty here?" she asked her mother. Yuka sighed again, asking herself the same question she always asked herself when she woke up in the morning.

"Because this is where your father is closest, Mikan... I want to stay close beside him for as long as possible. No matter how much he denied it, he loved this palace with all his heart. He could never leave this place, that's why he never ran away with me like I wanted him to. He loved this Kingdom so much." answered Yuka as Mikan closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"If only I was like father in that aspect." Mikan said to herself, turning and walking back to her bed. She then saw herself in her mirror, seeing her Pixie wings fluttering behind her.

"If only I didn't have these wings... then I'd be normal." she said to her reflection. If her mother had heard that, then Yuka would be sad. Mikan had always accepted herself for who she was, but now she was just disappointed in how she'd turned out. Her Grandfather didn't like her, did he? She was such a disappointment to the Kingdom, too. She'd probably be better off if she wasn't there anymore.

Mikan then saw the book of Fairy History on her bed, and went to pick it up. The moment she touched it, she thought of Natsume and her new friends, the only people other than her mother who truly accepted her. She then smiled.

And the next morning, all that was left was a note to her mother resigning the post of Princess to be with people who truly accepted her for who she was...

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The end of the third chapter! I never expected it to turn out like this... but I did anticipate for Mikan to gain the book and learn a few things. I haven't written it for a while, so the end of the chapter was unexpected. Hope you all liked it and thanks for reading!~

_**Love Blue~**_

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	4. A Pixie Princess

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Mikan and her Grandfather have had a fight, resulting in Mikan running away from the Fairy Kingdom and resigning her title as Princess! Now Mikan has noweher to live, but with a Fairy History book, can she find out something about her Pixie Wings and why she and her mother are so unusual? Will the Wizarding Kingdom acceot her and let her live with them or will they just turn her away like everyone else has in the Fairy Kingdom? It's all up to Mikan to decide how her future will turn out and whether or not she will return to the Fairy Kingdom to reunite with ehr mother... NXM

Disclaimed! Now, why do I not own Gakuen Alice, class? Yes, that's ridght... I am _not_ Tachibana Higuchi, I am Blue -Niagra, fanfiction writer of , not a mangaka. If I was a mangaka, then I would be no fanfiction writer now, would I?

If I do mistakes or anything, please, do not hesitate to tell me so. Sorry for the mistakes an such, but I don't like editing my own stories, I think re-reading them can be a bit boring, because I think I'm an embarassment for a writer. Okay, so with that said and done, please, read on to find all the errors!

**Chapter Four:**** ... A Pixie Princess...**

_In the Kingdom of Faeries, the current King or Queen will bear children who will also grow Prince or Princess wings. This is so that one line can stay on the throne for centuries, but sometimes the throne can take a turn and change the King or Queen if it desires so. For a Fairy, a new King or a new Queen should have kindness and love for their people. They should want it with all their heart. Those who only have a desire to rule for their own reasons will not become a King or a Queen, and will leave with Golden Wings. However, if a King or a Queen dies then the former King or Queen takes over the throne, not their husband or wife. For centuries, one family has been on the throne of the Fairy Kingdom for their sons have all been kind of heart and loving towards their kingdom and never wanted anything but happiness and peace to remain, but the birth of a daughter changed everything, and the Kingdom was brought into an uproar when her wings stayed the same for sixteen long years..._

"Grandfather's going to be so angry with me... he's probably punishing my mom now as we speak! He always blames her for anything and everything that happens!" cried out Mikan sadly as she lay her head on the table outside of the ice cream shop she'd been at the day before with her friends. Misaki sat beside her, resting a hand on Mikan's shoulder gently.

"Mikan, he's probably upset. You're his grandaughter, he obviously cares for you... come on, cheer up. You can't stay gloomy forever." Misaki told her as Mikan nodded, lifting her head from her arms and laying her hands in her lap, sighing to herself. She then shook her head.

"You don't know him. All I am to him is a complete embarassment. His own grandaughter hasn't grown into her wings, and I think that he hates me for it." she answered gloomily as Misaki stared towards Tsubasa who just shrugged, then continued with eating his ice cream that he had ordered. Misaki rolled her eyes like this was typical of Tsubasa.

"How can you say that? You don't know how he's feeling... I know that he expected you to grow your Princess wings, Mikan, but expectations don't last that long." answered Misaki kindly. Mikan shook her head,

"Try sixteen years, isn't that long enough?" she asked as Miksaki smiled. Mikan seemed to have an answer to everything that day. She was really down... how could Misaki cheer her up?

"Mikan, please. Just try to look on the bright side of everything. You can't expect people to accept you when you don't accept yourself, can you? And don't say that you have accepted yourself, because I know you have, but I think there's a part of you that resents how you have turned out. We all have our doubts, even me... I sometimes doubt whether or not I am the right girl for Tsubasa." she revealed. Mikan's eyes widened.

"But... you and Tsubasa are just so perfect together!" she breathed. Misaki smiled gently, nodding.

"See, everyone says so, but I still think that Tsubasa could find another girl who's better than me. Someone prettier, smarter and kinder towards him. I sometimes ask myself why he chose me out of so many other girls in this Kingdom... I'm not the most perfect person, Mikan, nobody is." Misaki explained to Mikan as the brunette sat back in her chair.

"I know, I've met a few people like that." she admitted, and Misaki nodded.

"I would have thought so, with your wings." she stated, then continued, "But we all have something special that makes us unique. I have my knowledge on you Faeries, Tsubasa... Tsubasa has his eating habits, but you, you have so much to offer, Mikan. You're kind and special and so unique that words can't describe you. Wings don't make the fairy, Mikan, it's the fairy that makes the wings."

"Just as the Wizard makes the magic... right?" said Mikan, looking up at Misaki hopefuly, and she nodded with a smile,

"Exactly, and if you remember that, then you will be brilliant in all you do, however big or however small." and with that, Misaki hugged Mikan warmly, then parted from her young friend and sat back in her chair, staring towards Tsubasa.

"Oh, Misaki." Mikan asked gently, Misaki blinked, staring at Mikan to show that she was listening,

"Do you have a place to stay? I... kind of ran away. I resigned from my Princess duties and left the palace last night. I have nowhere to go, now." she explained as Misaki ran a hand through her hair, sighing. Boy, Mikan sure did get herself into some trouble. She then shrugged and stood up, smiling sweetly and nodding.

"Sure, you can stay with Tsubasa and I. We have a small cottage to stay in before our wedding, so you can live with us until you find your feet and get your courage back, no problem." answered Misaki as Mikan beamed, jumping up and hugging her friend tightly.

"Misaki, you're the best!" she cried, suddenly floating off the ground as Misaki laughed and other people stared at Mikan in surprise. No one was accustomed to her being in their kingdom, so of course, she'd gain attention.

"Why thank you, Mikan." giggled Misaki as Tsubasa polished off his ice cream, stood up and walked to Misaki, grinning.

"Isn't she just, Mikan... she's wonderful." he whispered, kissing Misaki's blushing cheek as she smiled back shyly, then let her eyes fall to the ground. Mikan stared at the young couple with a smile. One day, she'd find someone just like that to love her dearly and to make her blush...

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_For as long as I can remember, I have been ridiculed by people who do not accept me as I am, and now I have grown tired of it all.  
Mother, I am sorry for running away, but I must go on and grow up like a normal girl, for if I do not, I will surely be sad with the  
outcome of my life. I love you, but the palace is no longer my home. I will never live to anyone else's expectations, I know that,  
and I know that I am a disappointment to Grandfather. If people accepted me for who I was, maybe I'd be here still, but it's not  
meant to be. You had father, and I have the wizards, so I have gone to live with them. I just want you to know that nothing like this  
means that I dislike you, I don't. I need to bloom like that rose, and once I do, I will return, but until then, goodbye.  
The Princess Pixie, Mikan_

"Where has she gone!? We need to find her immediately, or we'll be the talk of the Kingdom!" cried the King loudly, pacing about as Yuka stood by the staircase, staring at her father-in-law sadly.

"Aren't we already?" she asked quietly, but all the King did was snap at her, like he always did.

"Don't talk back to me!... Why, all you have ever done is put things into that girls head! You told her it was perfectly fine to accept herself as she was, detering her away from the studies! It's your fault, I know it is! You must have encouraged her to leave!" he yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Yuka who glared at him coldly.

"Me? Why would I encourage Mikan to run away!? She's my own _daughter_! I love her and you know that! I stuck by her through thick and thin, but you haven't! If anyone has brought her to her senses to leave, it's you! You're the one who's been looming over her, making her live in the shadows and grow up far too quickly! You did the same to Yukihara, but Mikan's took the stance your son never did until he met me!" Yuka snapped back loudly. The King was furious,

"How _dare_ you bring my son into this! You have no right, you common Pixie! Ever since _you_ entered the picture, it's been a disaster! If he hadn't have married you, then he would probably still be here, ruling greatly over this Kingdom!" he roared. Yuka shook her head,

"So you blame _me_ for his death!? How could you!? I never killed him, I _loved_ Yukihara with all of my heart, he was my husband" And unlike you and so many others, he accepted me... and if it wasn't for this palace or Mikan, I would have long gone!" cried Yuka, turning around and staring at the throne her husband had once sat on. Her heart grew sad,

"Then why not leave!? You have nothing anymore, nothing! Mikan's gone and so is Yukihara, so just leave! Everyone would be thankful, they'd rejoice! Go on, leave now!" he told her, pointing to the door as Yuka stared at the throne sadly, shaking her head.

"I won't leave until I see Mikan again! She will return, I know she will... she's my daughter and if she's anything like myself, then she will come back when she blooms!" Yuka snapped, then ran up the stairs as the King growled, gripping the stair banister tightly.

"Bloom? _Bloom_! Don't bring those flowers into this... blooming doesn't bring family back." he whispered, and turned himself so that he was staring at the throne his son had once sta upon...

"Oh, this room is wonderful! Thank you, Misaki!" cried Mikan the minute she stepped into the room that Misaki had prepared for her. It wasn't as big as the palace bedroom she had back in the Fairy Kingdom, then again, Mikan had always wanted a simple bedroom, and Misaki have given her a perfect sized room. There was a bookshelf, a bed, a chest to put her belongings in and a desk. Mikan couldn't have asked for anything better.

"Glad you like it, Mikan... if it isn't big enough, I'm sorry." Misaki stated, but Mikan shook her head.

"It's perfect, Misaki, I couldn't have asked for a better room... please don't feel like you need to give me something so regal. I'm no longer royalty." explained Mikan as Misaki smiled happily, hugged Mikan, then left the young fairy to look around her room.

Mikan went straight to the chest to put her belongings in it. Before she had left the Fairy Kingdom, she had picked up a few things to take with her. In a small sack made of a leaf and spiders thread, she kept some of her clothes, small shoes and a necklace which was so special to her; a silver chain with a flower made of Sakura petals and a rose quartz in the middle, sprayed with Goblin glue to set it and so that the flower never died.

The necklace was something that Yuka had given her, and it had been made by Mikan's own father. It was a gift to Yuka on their wedding day, and when Mikan turned sixteen, she had obtained the necklace as a sign of her parents' love to Mikan. The necklace had never been worn, but now that Mikan was away from her mother, she wanted to be as close to her parents as possible.

"_Thinking of you,  
No matter where you are  
Thinking of what could be,  
Something I can't see.  
I want to be  
Happy for you dear  
and I can't seem to forget you.  
Our two hearts are one..._

_"Thinking of the laughter and tears  
through all of the years  
But now I am gone  
Watching for the sky to turn blue  
Until we meet again..._

_"Thank you mother  
Thank you with a million tears  
Thank you my dear,  
It was so hard to say goodbye  
But I did it with a tear and smile,  
but with you in my heart,  
You taught me how I should believe..."_

"She's a pretty good singer, isn't she?" asked Tsubasa as Misaki smiled, nodding. She knew that it was wrong to listen to Mikan through the door, but she was worried about her friend. Mikan was sad, that much was clear, but she would become happy again in her own time, but for now she needed space and time to herself to get over her running away...

**Pixie Wings;**

_Pixie Wings are the wings of newborn faeries until they are children. They are also the wings of flower faeries. Pixie Wings are recorded to last from birth to ages ten up, but if a fairy is a late developer with wings, they usually grow them within three years from their tenth birthday. Pixie Wings are the most disrespected wings of them all in the Fairy Kingdom if an adult fairy bears them. These wings are small and not as powerful as Fairy Wings, meaning that the fairy can't fly as high as other faeries and are slower, as well.  
Pixie Wings are the most uncommon wings among adult and teenage fairy folk, but not impossible to find. Those who keep their Pixie Wings through adulthood are mostly mocked by other faeries and such, but it isn't impossible to grow fairy wings for them._

**Fairy Wings:**

_Fairy Wings are the most common wings of all in the Fairy Kingdom, and usually appear at the age of ten or thirteen if a fairy is a late developer. Fairy Wings can differ in colour, size and how fast a fairy can fly. These wings are faster and more agile for a Fairy, meaning that they can flky higher than a young fairy with Pixie Wings. Fairy Wings can sometimes turn into Golden or Prince/Princess Wings at the age of sixteen or even fifteen and over, but is mostly common in faeries who are either already in line for thr throne or faeries that are from a noble family. On a rare occasion, a common fairy can gain Prince or Princess Wings from their good hearts, but it doesn't always happen.  
Fairy Wings can last through the entire life of a Fairy, from teeange years to their elderly years._

Mikan closed the book after reading the Fairy Wings entry, sighing to herself. She was laying on her stomach on the bed in her new room. For a while she had been reading the book, looking for answers to why she still had her Pixie wings, but she found nothing. The closest information she found was the line that read '_Pixie Wings are the most uncommon wings among adult and teenage fairy folk, but not impossible to find'_. It frustrated her, yes, but Mikan would have to keep searching until she found an answer.

Then a knock came at her door, and she sat up,

"Come in," she said clearly, and Misaki and Tsubasa entered together, Misaki holding a tray of food and Tsubasa holding a cup.

"We brought dinner, I guess that you're at least a little hungry, Mikan." Misaki said as her friend smiled, standing and walking towards her friends. Mikan took the tray from Misaki, and rested it on the desk beside her. She then took the cup Tsubasa was holding and sighed happily.

"Thank you, Tsubasa, Misaki... you're so kind to me, I'll need to repay you back someday." answered Mikan as her friends shook their heads. Misaki sat Mikan down on the stool by the desk, her smile warming and friendly.

"Don't thank us, Mikan, and no need to repay us, either! Just seeing you smile is payment enough, right, Tsubasa?" she asked her fiancé as he nodded. Mikan couldn't help but smile at that,

"You are both so kind towards me... it's so different from back home." Mikan whsipered, then turned to her food as Misaki stared at Tsubasa, who nodded, then passed Misaki something. Misaki tapped Mikan's shoulder gently, and held out a small box.

"Mikan, if you really want to repay us... then will you come to our wedding... as my Maid of Honour?" she asked gently, and Mikan's face lit up like it was her birthday come early. She was speechless, but words couldn't explain how happy she was. Her, a Maid of Honour, at Misaki and Tsubasa's wedding? She would have been happy to be a simple guest.

"Are you sure? A Pixie winged Fairy, at a wedding... Misaki, thank you!" cried the girl, and tears enveloped her eyes as Misaki and Tsubasa laughed. They were then hugged tightly by the young Fairy who couldn't contain her happiness. They had just made her day...

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"Natsume, my son! I have wonderful news, you should listen!" cried Natsume's father happily as he ran, no, skipped, towards Natsume with a smile and glittering eyes. Natsume wanted to crawl into a hole for a while when he saw that.

"Oh man, what now, you old coot?" he snapped. That day wasn't one of the best days Natsume had had; his breakfast had been ruined, he wasn't allowed out, either, and he'd been tired and crabby most of the afternoon, but his father was a bundle of joy that day, which just made Natsume all the more angry.

"Is that any way to speak to your father who loves you so dearly?" whimpered the King childishly as Natsume rolled his eyes. He didn't want to even talk to his father, let alone listen to whatever his father had to say. It would probably be stupid,

"Whatever, just tell me what the heck you have to say!" growled the Prince darkly. His father was happy again, which did get on Natsume's nerves, but he didn't say anything to prevent the King's crocodile tears.

"Oh, my dear Natsume, my son, we must rejoice, for your birthday is near! You will soon be seventeen, the eligible age to find yourself a bride and become King of our kingdom! Isn't that just splendid!?" cried his father, stars and tears in his eyes. Natsume was already walking away, but sadly, his ecstatic father noticed. "My son, where are you walking to?" he skipped towards Natsume. If flowers could fly, they'd be flying around his father, Natsume thought.

"I don't want to marry." he hissed simply. His father blinked, letting the question sink in.

"Oh? Why ever not, Natsume? Are the girls from this kingdom not to your liking? Or maybe..." his father quirked an eyebrow, and Natsume was ready to go Alchemist on his fathers' royal butt.

"If you even _suggest_ that, I swear, you won't be king for long!" Natsume snapped loudly, a fireball forming in his hand and hissing at the King. His father coward a little, then straightened himself up and put on a serious face.

"Natsume... you _must_ find a bride at some point, you will be King! A great King needs a loving Queen, and you know that! If you have someone by your side to guide you and love you, then there is no doubt that you will be a great King." his father explained in a semi-serious voice. He then turned and stared at a large painting of a beautiful woman that hung on the wall by the thrones.

"Your mother was the love of my life and helped this Kingdom to become great... she was wild, yes, but so caring and a wonderful person... I couldn't have picked a better bride, and she loved me so much. Oh, I do miss her so..." he said to himself quietly, then sighed quietly to himself, "and that is why I want _you_ to find a bride, Natsume, because whatever girl you will find will be just as lovely and caring as your mother-- Natsume? Natsume~ Oh, where did you go-o~?" the minute the King had turned to face Natsume, he had found that his son wasn't there. Natsume had snuck off before his father could start babbling on. He knew that his father wanted Natsume to have a Queen, he'd always told Natsume that one day he would marry.

But who would want to marry a girl who didn't even love Natsume for himself...?

After sneaking away from his father, Natsume had left the palace and decided to take a walk through the town, and after getting Ruka to go with him, he entered Central Town and decided to spend his afternoon in the library. He was bored, and he'd already finished the manga's he'd taken out of the library the day before.

As Ruka stood at the desk of the Library, talking to that inventor girl, Hotaru, Natsume walked towards the manga book section, but actually stopped towards the Fairy section of the aisles. He'd suddenly remembered the dust brained fairy, Mikan, who was so rude to him. She was brave, for not many people would yell at a prince who was soon to be king, so she had no fear, then again, wasn't she a princess herself?

Obviously she knew the hardships of being royalty, but Natsume had to admit, he was one of the few who got freedom. His father, however ridiculous he was, was kind and let Natsume grow up how he wished to, but Mikan seemed like she was the sort who was brought up strictly. Then again, no strictness could take away how feisty she was.

Natsume paused for a moment, then went to look at the books on Fairies. He wondered why that girl had needed to look up her own race. She was a fairy, so she should know what she was and her heritage, didn't they teach her these things? Then again...

"Pixie Wings, huh... maybe she _does_ care a little about what wings she has." Natsume muttered to himself, staring at the books and their titles. Not many Wizards read about faeries, with the exception of fairyologists and people who studied it like Misaki, so a few books were a bit dusty from being there for a while.

And then he saw it, wedged between two thick books about the creation of faeries and their ways of life from the beginning to the present, a small book about faerie tales, stories made by faeries to give hope to the little faeries and to send kids to sleep.

He took the book from the shelf and stared at it. The book was pretty old, as it was dusty and a bit battered, meaning it hadn't been used for a while. He stared at the faded cover of a fairy with large wings, a white dress and a wand. Typical. Faeries, he knew, didn't have wands, they didn't know much magic, just the simple stuff like how to cast fire, water, but that was only the faeries who took up alchemy. Fiction put a lot of ideas into the heads of others.

Natsume took the book to the desk at the front of the library, thinking that he'd read it to see if it was interesting. Natsume hadn't heard a story in a whil, he just read manga.

"And here I thought that I would never see the Great Prince Natsume take out a story book. Faerie tales? And I presume this has _nothing_ to do with the Pixie Winged dust brain you brought in yesterday, hm?" Hotaru asked with a smug tone to her voice. Natsume really did want to hurt that girl a bit, she was so full of herself.

"No." he said rather bitterly, turning his gaze to a table from his left. Hotaru smirked a little, then returned to her usual stoic look. Ruka just stared up at her in amazement, like he'd never seen her smile before.

Then again, he hadn't.

"Whatever, just don't come in with faerie wings tomorrow or I must turbo gun you for the fun of it." Hotaru joked in her col voice. Natsume just glared at the beautiful inventor before walking off with Ruka in tow, grasping the faerie tale book in his hand tightly...

"Mikan, may I come in? I have something to show you." came Misaki's voice from behind the door as Mikan sat on her bed, staring at the gift Misaki had given her after asking her to be the Maid of Honour at Tsubasa and Misaki's wedding. Misaki had given Mikan a special hair comb made of flowers that shaped into a beautiful, colourful butterfly. It had some small sapphires and rose quartz's embedded into it that sparkeled gently. Mikan would wear it at the wedding.

"Of course, Misaki." replied Mikan, putting the hair comb down on the bedside table. Misaki entered the room, holding something in her hands. Mikan realised that it was a book, a small one, much smaller than the Fairy History book she'd borrowed from the library the other day. She wondered what it was, but Misaki didn't hesitate to tell her what it was.

"I found this a while back, and it's a book of faerie tales. I suppose that you had one, too?" Misaki asked, sitting beside Mikan and showing her the cover of the book. It was of a fairy in a white gown, holding a wand. Mikan smiled as she stared at the cover,

"Oh, I remember these a little... my mother used to read me them to help me sleep, but I think we lost the book. I haven't seen one of these for such a long time." Mikan whispered as Misaki placed the book in Mikan's lap and smiled,

"I thought as much... anyway, you can read these stories, they might help you." Misaki said, standing as Mikan blinked, questioning Misaki.

"Help? Help me how? They're just stories to help kids sleep and hope for great things." Mikan answered as Misaki smiled, standing at the door. She looked like she knew something that Mikan didn't.

"Ah, yes, but sometimes knowledge can be found in the strangest places, Mikan. So, goodnight and happy reading." Misaki said gently, then closed the door and walked back to her bedroom as Mikan sat there with the book in her lap as she sat on the bed quietly...

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That's a wrap! Thanks for reading, guys, and if there are ANY errors, do not hesitate to say 'OI, ERROR MAN!' and all that jazz (jazz hands). So yeah... thank you, guys, I love you all SO so much!!!

_**Lots of love, Blue~**_

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	5. Who Wanted Acceptance

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Mikan now lives with Misaki and Tsubasa and is trying her hardest to find out who she really is and why her wings won't grow. Can a book of faerie tales really help her to solve a strange mystery behind her wings, or will she finally learn to accept herself fully for who she is and bloom? NXM

Disclaimer~ I do NOT own Gakuen Alice, but oh if I did, I would love it so much! Drawing the characters, letting people fall in love with them... oh, how I wish! It would be wonderful, wouldn't it?

Typos, typos, check for typos, thanks!~

Okies, love you all! And after thinking about it, this story is based off of bullying and accepting yourself for who you are, isn't? Anyway, I do so hope that you enjoy it! Love Blue~

**Chapter Five:**** ... Who Wanted Acceptence...**

_A great King starts off as a great person. For a King to rule a kingdom he must rule a happy, peaceful kingdom and he must also be proud of himself. Also, a King needs a loving Queen who will rule beside him with just as much love and care as she has for her husband. Without these things, a King cannot be as great as he wants to be, but if he has the love and devotion of a Queen, he can become great without his crown..._

**Pixie Wings**

**Once upon a time in the land of faeries there lived a young faerie named Allana. Allana had, for as long as she could remember, Pixie Wings, and was made fun of by the other faeries who had grown these beautiful faerie wings. Allana loved her wings, though, despite how cruel other people were to her and was kind to everyone because she wanted to have her kindness returned one day.  
Allana was a beautiful faerie, but because of her wings, no one took notice of her beautiful face and her lovely voice which so harmonious that even the trolls could sleep by just hearing it.  
One day, Allana was out walking for herbs and water when she met a wounded man. He had the most beautiful wings that Allana had ever seen, and was entranced by them. Allana helped the man and healed him with her potions, for she was a potion maker, then sang a song to sooth his mind. The man surprised by Allana and her Pixie Wings, but did not criticise her for them. Allana had never met someone like him before, and soon the two became friends, and later, fell in love.  
Allana and the young man, named Fern, married and were happy together. But the land of faeries turned on them both and banished Allana and Fern from their world where they were no longer accepted for Allana's difference. This upset Allana, for now she knew that she was no longer accepted by anyone but her dear husband, Fern, but soon everything got worse.  
Fern died one cold winters night and Allana was left alone with no one. She had no children and now had no husband to care for her. She was deeply saddened and cried many days and nights for Fern, but he never came back to her, and soon she too became sick with grief from the death her husband.  
However one day everything for Allana changed. She was in her husbands room and found one of his most precious belongings, a ring made of flowers and diamonds made by his late sister, and Allana picked it up to place it in a jewellry box.  
The moment Allana touched the ring, though, beautiful faerie wings formed behind her back, wings more beautiful than her husbands. Allana had out grown her pixie wings and had grown faerie wings...**

"This isn't helping me _at all_!" Mikan groaned as she closed the book and rolled onto her back, sighing to herself. Misaki had told her that the book would probably help her, but they were just _faerie_ stories, weren't they? They were made up, but then again... Mikan was actually curious about the stories, because if she remembered correctly, some of the stories were about Pixie winged faeries who fell in love.

"Come to think of it... Pixie Wings sounds like my mother, minus the no children part." Mikan said to herself thoughtfully as she stared at the book cover. She wondered if there had been more pixie winged faeries like herself before she was born, before her mother was even born! If there were, then Mikan was sure to come from a certain heritage.

Mikan got off the bed and took the book towards the shelf where she would put more books when she got some. She then reminded herself to take the History of Faeries book back to the library at some point, or that Prince would get mad at her and probably bite her head off.

"Faerie tales... is Misaki sure that they can help me? I'll find more information in this history book." she whispered to herself, but Mikan shrugged it off and went to change to go outside. Mikan had afeeling that she'd have an eventful day ahead of her...

"Natsume, your sister is going to worry for you again! Why not tell her where you go?" Ruka asked his friend as Natsume walked ahead, looking his usual stern self. Natsume shook his head as he turned a corner and Ruka followed quickly,

"Because Aoi has this` incredible ability to tell father where I go by accident. When he asks her things, she tends to spill the truth." he said through gritted teeth as Ruka smiled whilst shaking his head. Yes, Aoi was like that.

"Very true, Natsume... the young princess does not know when to lie." he laughed as Natsume nodded. That day Natsume had a few things on his mind, mainly the faerie tales he'd been reading. He had taken note that some of the stories were about Pixie winged faeries who wanted acceptence and fell in love with handsome princes or something and suddenly grew fancy new wings. He had actually asked himself why these faerie tales hadn't taught kids to accept different things.

Because he knew that Mikan had never been accepted by others, and she had Pixie wings like those faeries in the stories, so why didn't anyone else take note of what those faerie tales were _saying_ and just let Mikan be? She had feelings, too.

Okay, why was he thinking of the feather brained pixie?

"Natsume?" Ruka suddenly asked loudly, a little concerned.

"Huh? What?" Natsume asked, stopping to stare at Ruka who looked at him closely, then folded his arms.

"I was asking where we were going, because you aren't heading to the library like normal." Ruka queried as Natsume blinked, shrugging a little. Ruka grinned. "You're thinking about something... a certain pixie winged faerie, maybe?" he asked his friend. Natsume fought back a blush.

"Why does everyone keep bringing that up!?" he snapped coldly, stomping off on another route as Ruka ran to keep up, "I am _not_ thinking about her!" he yelled out, and Ruka shook his head. Natsume was so obvious and transparent.

"Fine, fine, you aren't thinking of her, whatever! Just stop running, Natsume!" cried Ruka as Natsume slowed down so that Ruka could keep up. Natsume was a good runner, that was for sure. "So... what _are_ you thinking about?"

"None of your business." muttered Natsume, and quickened his pace again. Bingo! Ruka just grinned to himself secretly. Natsume only hid things when they were something personal, because normally he and Ruka told each other everything.

As Natsume walked on, Ruka realised that they were heading towards the field where they had first met Mikan. Either Natsume _really_ needed to get aeway from the palace, or he was thinking too much to realise where he was going. Ruka picked the latter, because Natsume had a look of deep concentration on his face.

Soon, Natsume and Ruka were both knee-deep in flowers. Natsume was still thinking, Ruka could tell, and wouldn't talk until Natsume realised where they were. It didn't take long for him to snap out of it, though...

"Eh? Natsume, Ruka! What are you guys doing here?" cried a chirpy voice which could only belong to _one_ girl. Natsume was immediately out of his thoughts as he gazed at Mikan, grass and flower petals stuck in her hair and a bunch of wild flowers clutched in her hand tightly. She walked up to the boys, smelling of sweet honeysuckle.

"I should be asking you the same thing, Pixie." Natsume answered almost instantly. Mikan was already irritated with him, and turned to Ruka with a bright smile.

"I was just picking flowers to place in my room... oh! I never told you, did I?" Mikan stated as Natsume arched an eyebrow.

"Told us _what?_" he asked her. Mikan looked a little sad about it, but still held her smile.

"I ran away." she replied gently, which caused Ruka to open his mouth in astonishment as Natsume quirked his eyebrow higher. He was more surprised than he let on, though.

"Why so?" Natsume questioned. He was indeed curious to as why she'd run away, and so was Ruka. Mikan hesitated, then sat down in the flowers, crossing her legs so that she was out of sight.

"Because of my Grandfather... he's disappointed in me." she muttered, barely loud enough to hear, but the two lads heard it. Natsume rolled his eyes like he didn't care, then crouched to the ground so that he could properly hear Mikan and to see her face.

She was crying.

"How do you know? Has he told you so himself?" he asked her in a low voice as Mikan nodded, then shook her head and then finally shrugged.

"Not... not exactly." she muttered back. Natsume rolled his eyes again.

"Then don't cry about it. We all disappoint, you idiot, some more so than others. Haven't you figured out that maybe someone might miss you, no matter how stupid you are?" he asked her in a cold voice. Mikan glared at him, forgetting her tears.

"Hey, you!" she roared. Natsume was glad to see her angry, it was better than crying. Crying really didn't suit such a girl like Mikan.

"Look, you need to go back. Won't your parents miss you? You've gotta return at some point, you know." he told her as Mikan sat there, staring at Natsume. She finally wiped her eyes and sniffed gently.

"I, I know, but I told my mom that I wouldn't return until I had bloomed... I don't want to return the way I am, now." she whsipered gently as Natsume sighed, then sat himself down in front of Mikan. She was so difficult.

"Bloomed? What do you mean? Like how that stupid rose you gave me will bloom?" he asked. Mikan stared at him in surprise,

"You remember the rose I gave you? I thought you'd have thrown it away!" she cried out loudly as Natsume shook his head, running a ahnd through his hair.

"I... I did! I have no use for a stupid rose!" he growled, and at that, Mikan slumped and stared at the ground. Natsume wondered why he was saying those things...? "B-but, if you bloom, it'll be like the rose bud, right? You'll take your time and then turn into a flower?" oh man, he didn't sound like the Natsume he knew!

"Exactly like that, and until then, I won't return! I want people to see me in a new light when I come back and make my entrance... but it might be too late by then." she said slowly, shaking her head. Natsume stared at her for a moment.

"Why?" he asked her,

"Because I don't know _how_ to bloom... what do I need to do? Do I need to make a potion to bloom or should I go on a journey...? What do I do with myself? Should I... should I just wait to see what happens?" she asked, looking up at Natsume like he might have an answer. Natsume blinked, wondering to himself how she could bloom, too.

"How should I know? I'm no fairy expert like the pink haired fairyologist... why not ask her?" he said as Mikan shook her head,

"I don't think even she knows, but she did give me _one_ thing." Mikan said, holding up a finger to show a one as Natsume nodded.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah... she gave me a book of faerie tales. Why, I have no idea, because I don't think it will help me... however, it got me thinking... the story about Pixie Wings reminds me of my mother, so I thought that there may be a certain heritage containing Pixie wings, meaning that there were more Pixie winged faeries like myself who never grew into their wings... I know that I'm trying to find out _how_ to grow into my wings, but still... maybe in some way I can grow them, but when I'm older, I don't know." she answered,

"You'll never know until you find out, right? So just read a few books from the library, find out if there are any lines of other Pixie winged faeries, do whatever, or just sit here and wait for something to happen." Natsume replied as Mikan stared at him, then smiled and stood up slowly. She helped Natsume up, then giggled.

"You're covered in grass!" she laughed as Natsume growled gently, then noticed that Mikan was covered in grass, too. He walked up to her and swept the grass from her hair as she stared at him, and lightly blushed. Natsume thens tepped back and removed the grass from his own hair.

"There, now we have no grass in our hair." he said as Mikan nodded, then smiled and stopped blushing.

"Natsume... thank you. You may be horrid sometimes, but you've really helped me out, now, so thanks." she said, then held out a simple flower with purple petals. "You're a great friend, and I hope you find your own happiness... one day." she whispered, then walked off as Natsume stood there, holding the flower as Ruka walked towards him, a knowing grin on his face.

"Shut up." hissed Natsume as Ruka's grin widened.

"I won't say a thing." he promised, and followed Natsume back towards Central Town where they would probably sit in the library, reading manga...

"Oh, a Pixie! I haven't seen one of _these_ before!" cried a blonde haired woman the minute Mikan walked into Misaki and Tsubasa's cottage. The woman walked towards Mikan and stared at her, smiling beautifully. Wow, she was a pretty woman. "She's very beautiful, lovely eyes and a well shaped face... nice choice for a Maid of Honour."

"Thank you, Narumi, but please don't crowd her... Mikan, welcome home, this is Narumi, he is my tailor for the wedding and will design both our dresses." explained Misaki as Mikan's eyes driftedfrom Misaki to Narumi, then back again.

"She's a he!?" she cried out loudly, and Narumi burst out laughing. Obviously, he got that a lot. Misaki even giggled a little.

"Oh, Mikan... yes, Narumi's a man, a very pretty one, at that, and he knows it." Misaki said with another laugh as Narumi sweeped his back, smiling beautifully. Mikan wondered how someone so gorgeous could be a man.

"Of course." answered Narumi, and blew a kiss to Misaki who rolled her eyes.

"Narumi is the top tailor in Central Town and an amazing Alchemist, rumour has it. However, no one has seen his alchemy for a while now, not since the attack of the Goblins." Misaki went on, and Narumi stretched out an arm to show off his hand.

"Beautiful hands should _not_ be used to create ugly things such as magic used to destroy, Misaki dear. Beautiful hands should create beautiful things, like your wedding dress." he explained calmly as Mikan herself giggled. He was a strange fellow, then again, Mikan was no ordinary girl herself.

"And speaking of wedding dresses, I need to get measured up, as does Mikan, so please." Misaki said politely, leading Narumi and Mikan into the living room where the two girls would be measured.

"You will look beautiful in your dress, Misaki, but you don't need a dress to make you look beautiful, it's-" Narumi started, but Misaki finished him off,

"The girl who makes the dress beautiful, I know." answered Misaki as she stood on a stool to be measured up. Misaki then turned to grin at Mikan, "Narumi is full of wisdom, Mikan, he has a few useful words to remember, especially when it comes to accepting yourself."

"As you should! Don't expect to be accepted by others when you don't accept yourself! Why, I may be a picture of beauty, but I do have my doubts." Narumi stated as he measured Misaki who nodded. Mikan smiled as she watched.

"I know. Misaki gave me this talk a few days ago... it's not the wings that make the fairy, it's the fairy that makes the wings." Mikan answered, remembering what Misaki had told her the day she had run away.

"Exactly, and thank goodness you remembered that, Mikan!" Misaki said, then hopped down from the stool, for Narumi had finished his measuring and beckoned Mikan to the stool where she stood tall. It was like a fitting back at the palace when there was a party...

----------------------------------------------

"She ran away!?" cried Sumire the minute she heard the news about Princess Mikan. It was a surprise that the girl had run away, seeing as she was very set on sticking up for herself, but Sumire smiled to herself. "I admire her courage." she then told her parents, who smiled back.

"Yes, thank goodness she has finally owned up to what she is and left! I do hope that she doesn't show her face her ever again!" Mrs. Shouda cried out happily, clapping her hands together. Mr. Shouda nodded proudly,

"Of course she won't return, my dear! Why would she want to, there is _nothing_ here for her. Now all we have to do is throw that ridiculous mother of hers out! Once she's gone, we won't have to huimiliate ourselves by conversing with them again... oh, if only they had gone sooner." muttered Sumire's father as she stared at her parents, nodding. She then stood and walked to the stairs in their house,

"I am going to my room for some rest." she called out, then left her parents to converse as she flew up the stair. The minute she was in her room, however, Sumire sighed and looked at the reflection of herself in the mirror.

"Admire her courage...? Whatever." she muttered, walking towards her bed and falling onto it. Sumire stared at the corner of one of her wings and shook her head.

"I hate these wings." she muttered to herself, burying her head into her arms as she lay there, still, until she was disturbed by a knock on her window, and she looked up to see her best friend, Koko.

"Koko!" she snapped as he flew in, grinning that stupid grin of his, "What _are_ you doing in here! You know well that mother and father don't like you being around me!" she glared at Koko, but not with hatred.

"I know, but we're friends, Sumire, and your parents can't keep friends apart!" he started as Sumire sat up, sighing and huffing to herself. "Can't you talk to them?" he asked her then, and she stared at him.

"I _have_, but they don't listen! They think that you're a bad influence on me." she muttered, lowering her head as Koko sighed, shaking his own head as Sumire let her eyes dart to the side to stare at him.

"If it wasn't for these wings..." she muttered, but Koko snapped,

"Don't _say_ that! These wings mean you're special, Sumire!"

"How can I feel special when I don't have you near me, huh!? These wings just tear us apart, Koko!" she then screeched, and Koko was lost for words. Sumire stood then, and ran to her window, staring out of it as the tears ran down her face. Koko followed her.

"You really miss me that much?" he asked her gently as Sumire nodded, rubbing her eyes roughly with her fists as Koko held her shoulders, smiling gently.

"I wish... I just wish that I could be like Mikan." she whispered as Koko stared with interest,

"Oh, yeah? Why?" he asked as Sumire turned to stare at him, sighing.

"She doesn't have the pressure of being in line for the throne, and I do... she still has some freedom left for herself, but me... I'm not even allowed to see my friends anymore." Sumire whispered, then felt herself being pulled towards Koko as he hugged her. She buried her head in his chest as Koko stood there, holding her.

"She has pressure, you know that. She always has... come on, Sumire, just accept your wings as they are, because if you come out as a Queen or just with regular wings, I'll accept you no matter what." he told her as she looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"I know... but my parents might not," she sighed as Koko rolled his eyes, then pushed Sumire away from him and stared at her sternly, which was weird for Koko since he was rarely stern.

"And why should you care? As long as you're happy, it doesn't matter what others think... right?" Koko asked as Sumire nodded, then flung her arms around Koko's neck as he held onto her, smiling.

Yes, Sumire did admire Mikan's courage, but ever since she had grown her Princess wings, Sumire had admired Mikan in more ways than she could imagine...

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The chapter ended differently. I was going to have Sumire as the bad guy throughout _all_ the story, but she's a good character, so I couldn't help but add in how much she did admire Mikan. Okies, well, I do hope that you liked it, and thanks for reading. Bye!~

_**Lots of love and hugs, Blue~**_

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	6. And Instead Found

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Can faerie tales really come true? Mikan is still trying to find out who she is whilst wondering what her feelings are for Natsume? Can she bloom like she has always wanted to and show everyone, especially her Grandfather, that she is so much better than they think she is, or will she just crash and burn like people think she should? NXM

Disclaimed~ Oh, what a day, I am disclaiming, and to tell you the truth, I have been writing these chapters in the same day! Amazing I am certainly on a role! Chapter 3 to 6 in a day, yay!

Okay, so, you know the rules; I do a typo error, you report it. However, I am looking back a bit now and again to check for errors, so guess who's learning! YAY!~

Have a happy reading session, guys!~ XXX

**Chapter Six:**** ... And Instead Found...**

_Just because you have the best of everything does not mean you have it all. Riches and the wings of a Princess, it isn't all that. I long for freedom and friendship from people who really do care for me, not the fake love of someone who just see's you for your wings and your money. Why can't I be just like her? The Pixie Princess with those childish wings that she never grew out of? If I was just like her, then maybe I would be happier with myself..._

"It's too hot today!" cried Misaki the minute she and Mikan stepped out into the sunlight. It was one of the warmest days of the season, and Mikan aimed to spend as much time outside as possible with the flowers. It was days like these that she cherished more than anything.

"But it's so _sunny!_ You should spend a day outside when the weather is this nice!" Mikan chimed, dragging Misaki by the wrist towards the gates of the Wizarding Kingdom. Misaki mumbled something about how hot it was and that she'd rather sit in the shade.

"Days like these, Mikan, are a sign that you need to rest. These are the lazy days of the season, where we sit in the shade and _sunbathe_ or drink cold honey dew." explained Misaki as Mikan rolled her eyes dramatically. Misaki was _such_ a Drama Queen.

"And what about the season of snow, huh? You can laze around _then_, but when it's a clear, beautiful day like this you just _have_ to be outside, flitting about in the fields of flowers with your friends, picking daisies and making a daisy chain tiara!" Mikan trilled happily, getting herself excited about making daisy chains and such as Misaki laughed out at what Mikan had said.

"Mikan, you sound _exactly_ like a Flower Faerie!" she cried out as Mikan giggled at that. She _did_ sound just like a flower faerie, but Mikan had always been like that.

"I know, but come on! Let's get to the field before Tsubasa drags you away!" cried Mikan, dragging Misaki off to the field of wild flowers that she really loved. Misaki gave her friend a lopsided grin.

"Mikan, he's down by the lake with Ruka and Natsume, he won't be stealing me away any time soon, I assure you." promised Misaki as she jogged after Mikan, who had suddenly started to levitate from the ground. It was easier to fly than to run, in Mikan's eyes.

"Oh, that's fine then! We can just make them some daisy chains, too!" she answered, swooping in the air gracefully. Misaki watched in awe.

"Mikan, you fly so beautifully." she said quietly, watching Mikan fly around and twirl in the air. Mikan smiled, then flew low to the ground and picked some flowers, throwing them in the air and finishing with a little bow and a giggle.

"Why thank you, Miss Misaki. I do try my best." she had put on a silver-spooned tone of voice, mocking herself as Misaki laughed, shaking her head. Mikan then returned to the ground and stood beside Misaki.

"So where did you learn to fly like that? Was it in your studies as a Princess?" queried Misaki as Mikan walked beside her, nodding.

"Yes. Princesses must be graceful and elegant when they fly. I was taught to fly the 'proper' way, even though I have these wings. Grandfather was adament in training me for the Crowning Ceremony." Mikan replied, remembering that her Grandfather had always wanted to act and think like a princess, despite her status of wings.

"Interesting... I haven't covered this in my studies yet, so pardon my asking, Mikan, but what do you do at the Crowning Ceremony, other than finding the next King or Queen, that is." asked Misaki curiously as Mikan turned to look at her friend, a small smile on her face.

"The Crowning Ceremony is an important event that takes place normally a year after the last King has resigned, but in my case, the whole kingdom had to wait sixteen years for it to happen. The throne is very fussy with who it chooses, and obviously the right person hadn't appeared at the time, so my grandfather was still King." Mikan then went on to telling Misaki about the Ceremony, "Anyway, at the Ceremony there are a lot of things to do; Wreaths of flowers can be sold as well as jewellry, and there are dancers who are often Flower Faeries, but regular faeries can join in if they learn the required dance. Other faeries from different Kingdoms also attend the ceremony to see the rise of a new King or Queen. Then there's the Parade." Mikan said as Misaki listened intently.

"The Parade?" she asked, urging Mikan to continue.

"The Parade is the most important part of the whole festival other than the Crowning Ceremony itself! The Parade consists of all the faeries that have grown Prince or Princess wings and they do a certain dance that is just for them Once the dance is done, they fly through the crowds from different points, then meet again at the Grand Hall in the Palace and form two groups; Prince and Princess, and then the Crowning Ceremony begins to see who is their new successor." finished Mikan as Misaki paused for thought.

Another question came into her head, one that she wished to know more about than the Crowning Ceremony.

"So you say that a year after the denouncement of the current King or Queen, there is the Crowning Ceremony, but no ones taken over the position of King or Queen since you were a baby?" asked Misaki, wondering about it.

"No. You see, my father was the King prior to my birth, but died a year after I was born. He was King for barely five years. A year after his death, there was a Crowning Ceremony, but the throne did not choose anyone as its next heir. My grandfather took over the position of King once again for five years, but yet again the Crowning Ceremony did not produce a new King or Queen. The throne is fussy with its choice and only chooses those who are pure of heart and have the desire to rule their Kingdom with its people in mind, not with their own selfish desires. Obviously the throne saw a lot of deciet in the hearts of those who have tried." Mikan explained as Misaki, noticing that they had reached the field of wild flowers, sat down and tapped her chin gently with a finger thoughtfully.

"How curious... you faeries are _very_ interesting, I have to say, but to not have a new King or Queen for sixteen years! It must be devestating for many people... do you think that this Crowning Ceremony will be the same?" she asked as Mikan shrugged, sitting beside her.

"I have no idea, anything could happen. All I know is that there are a lot of selfish faeries in the Kingdom who don't deserve their Prince or Princess wings, but maybe the throne will surprise the Kingdom this year, you never know." she answered as Misaki nodded. Mikan then stood up again, walked to the field and started picking some wild flowers and daisies to make wild flower tiaras and daisy chains.

Misaki, however, was deep in thought.

"That dance." she suddenly yelled, startling Mikan who dropped her bunch of flowers, "Was that a dance for the ceremony?" Misaki stared at Mikan who was picking up the wild flowers. She nodded.

"Yes... my mother taught me it when I was younger and ever since I have partaken in each Crowning Ceremony as a dancer alongside the Flower Faeries. However, I don't think I will be going this time." Mikan's head turned in the direction of the faerie kingdom, and Misaki knew that deep down, Mikan missed her home.

"Why not? You belong there, don't you?" asked Misaki as Mikan sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't know if I do, Misaki, you know I don't. Maybe if I grew into my wings like a normal faerie, I'dbe accepted, but I can't. My mother hasn't, I haven't and probably generatiosn of girls like me haven't. It's impossible for us." she sighed, sitting down on a large pebble, staring at her feet. Misaki sat beside her.

"I know, but remember, it's not the wings that make the faerie. It's the faerie that makes her wings, and if you think they're beautiful, then that's alright. No one can say anything against you." whispered Misaki as the young fairy rested her head on Misaki's shoulder, her eyes downcast.

"I know... but right now, I just miss home. I miss my mom." Mikan explained in a low voice, and she shook her head slowly and gently. "I wish I would just bloom already. I want to leave my bud and turn into a rose,"

"Myabe you're not a rose. Maybe you're just Mikan, but a bit more cheerful. We aren't all roses, Mikan. I know that I'm no rose." Misaki said, tapping Mikan's nose as Mikan looked up at the pink haired wiard.

"I don't mean... I'm just saying that I want to bloom like the rose bud. I can't stay enclosed forever... can I?" she asked sadly. Mikan's fear was to never bloom, to never find someone who helped her accept herself entirely. Misaki smiled knowingly.

"Blooming takes time. You need to find the right something, someone or that certain feeling which can help you overcome yourself and will make you shine. I know that you can bloom, Mikan. It's just that I don't know _when_." she exclaimed, then gave Mikan a pat on the head and stood up.

"And now, Mikan, I want to see your dance again. There's nothing better than a dance to cheer up a gloomy face like yours, is there?" she asked as Mikan smiled, nodding and standing on the pebble. If anyone could make her happy again after being sad, it was Misaki...

"Hey! Prince of Gloom, get in the water!" yelled Tsubasa from where he was standing in the lake. Water came up to his waist as Natsume sat on the embankment, glowering at the tall and idiotic wizard.

"I thought I told you I wasn't going into the water," snarled Natsume darkly. Natsume was never the sort of person to like water, he preferred to just bathe in it or let his feet sit in it, but Tsubasa was determined to get Natsume into the water.

"Aww, come on, princey! It's not like it'll hurt the top Alchemist and Wizard in the Kingdom! It's just a little harmless water, and anyway, it'll cool you down! I don't know how you can withstand the heat!" Tsubasa chortled on, but Natsume, over the years he'd known the idiot, had learned to drown him out. Ruka stared at Natsume as he sat beside him.

"Are you sure you don't want to go in the water, Natsume?" he asked softly as Natsume stared at Ruka.

"You can go in the water if you want, Ruka, I just don't feel like it." he muttered, then stood and walked towards his coat as Ruka sighed, then jumped into the lake and swam around with Tsubasa, who was still yelling at Natsume and ordering him to get in and enjoy the refreshment it gave.

Natsume just blocked him out, as he always did. He went to sit in the shade with a book he'd taken out of his coat pocket. It was a small, slim book on faeries, a beginners guide to fairyology. Natsume didn't want to admit it, but he found a sudden interest in faeries ever since he had read that faerie tales book from the library.

How one girl could intrigue him so, he didn't know, but that fairy surely did intrigue him.

He turned to a book marked page which was all about the status of wings, the ones Misaki had described the first time they met Mikan, but he had found out that there were more than six status' for wings...

**Wing Status:**

_**Pixie Wings are small wings that are agile for faerie children or small faeries only. They grow out quickly. These wings do not enable fast movement and don't hold in the air as long as faerie wings. Flower Faeries also have these wings because they are smaller than most faeries in the Fairy Kingdom.**_

_**Fairy Wings are the most common wings of all for a faerie. The size, colour and pattern of these wings can differ according to the fairy they belong to and are faster, larger and can let a faerie last longer in the air. Fairy wings can last from teenage years till the end of adulthood for faeries.**_

_**Golden Wings are the superior wings given to Dukes, Mayors and such. These wings are important and enable the fairy to be on a council for the Kingdom. Golden Wings are also given to candidates for the throne and also belong to Mer-faeries. The Wings are slightly larger than Fairy wings and sparkle.**_

_**Prince or Princess Wings are wings given to specific teenagers aged 15 to 16 who are waiting in line for the throne. These wings last up until the Crowning Ceremony, and will disappear when a new King or Queen is chosen. Those who have not been chosen are given Golden Wings and take on roles such as Dukes or Mayors and such.**_

_**King or Queen Wings are given to the chosen Prince or Princess winged faerie waiting in line for the throne. King or Queen Wings are not always obtained at the Crowning Ceremony and can take a while to appear on the right ruler. King or Queen Wings are larger than any of the faerie wing statuses and hold many colours, sparkle and leave a gold dust in the air when they flutter.**_

_**Angel Wings are the Holy Wings of the faerie kingdom. Only faeries who are pure of heart can obtain these wings. These Wings are said to pass down through certain heritages of faeries descending from Angels, and are ultimately hard to obtain. The wings are that of an Angels and the biggest wings of them all. Only one faerie has been recorded to have obtained these wings.**_

_**Flower Wings are the wings of a Flower Faerie who are in-training to be Guardian Faeries and can only be given to a flower faerie by a Guardian Faerie. These wings are made to look like flower petals and can have a certain colour according to the faerie they belong to and what flower they are matched to.**_

_**Butterfly Wings are the wings of a Guardian Faerie, who are only found within the Flower Faeries. These are the biggest wings, other than Rainbow Wings, a flower faerie can obtain. Butterfly Wings can be any colour according to the faerie they belong to. These wings are that of a butterflies and enables the faerie to fly high and last long in the air.**_

_**Rainbow Wings can be obtained by either flower faeries or mer-faeries. These wings are hard to obtain and can only be gained by finding the end of a rainbow and bathing underneath it, or by a selfless act. Only a handful of flower faeries and a few mer-faeries have obtained these wings.**_

_**Shattered Wings are the wings of dark faeries. These wings are dark grey or black and torn all over. These wings can only be gained by doing cruel and selfish acts and a desire to be evil.**_

_**Crescent Wings are often only given to Moon faeries and are in the shapes of crescent moons. The wings give off a light like the moon and often sparkle. The wings, however, only work at night in the moonlight.**_

_**Solar Wings are wings given to Sun faeries and take the form of flames and are often red or orange in colour. These wings only work in the day when the sun is shining, but won't work when hit by water.**_

"So many wings..." Natsume muttered to himself quietly, turning the page over. If he was a faerie, he'd be confused with so much to learn, then again, if he learnt fariyology he'd have been confused. He wondered how the faeries managed it...?

"Fairy Wing Status? I didn't know you were interested in what wings we had, Natsume." a voice suddenly said behind him, and Natsume nearly jumped, but kept his cool and turned around to see the Pixie winged princess standing behind him, smiling that smile she always he had. He wondered how long she'd been standing behind him.

"What do you want?" he asked sharply, closing the book and hiding it under his coat as Mikan sat beside him in the shade,

"I just came to see what you were doing, geez. You're always so snappy..." mumbled Mikan as Natsume stared at her curiously, then shrugged and looked forward to see Tsubasa, Ruka and Misaki in the lake together, splashing each other.

"Why aren't you in the lake with those lot, eh? You'd have more fun, you know." Natsume told her as she smiled, staring at him from the corners of her eyes.

"How do you know that I'll find it fun, Princey? Maybe I'm having fun just sitting down here, annoying you." she then giggled and lifted a finger, poking Natsume gently on his arm as he scowled at her. Mikan let out another giggle, annoying Natsume a bit more.

"You're weird." was all he said as Mikan rolled her eyes.

"And you're boring, but so what? Now come on, Prince, we're going in the water." she stated, standing and holding out her hand. Natsume just stared at her like she was mad.

"I don't swim." he told her bluntly. Mikan sighed.

"Look, Natsume, you will either come and swim in the lake willingly, or I can drag you there. Your pick?" she asked him, her hand still held out. Natsume smacked it away.

"Is that a good enough answer, dust brain?" he snapped at her. Mikan then quickly grabbed Natsume's wrist and pulled him up forcefully, struggling but adament about it.

"Hard way it is, then. I hope you know what you're in for, Mr. Prince." she told him, and tried her hardest to drag Natsume from the shade to the lake. However, Natsume was strong, which Mikan didn't anticipate, and he just as easily pulled her back as she had grabbed his wrist.

However how she fell was something Natsume hadn't planned on...

"Oww... man, you're mean." muttered Mikan, ready to glare up at Natsume, but she met his eyes beneath her. Her eyes widened slowly when she realised just _why_ he was beneath her.

"Geez, dust brain... you sure are a clutz." Natsume hissed up at her as Mikan felt her face turn pink. She felt all warm and funny, but mistook it for the fury which she was about to unleash on him, "But this position is _quite_ comfortable, despite being unpractical for the great outdoors." he suddenly told her in a low voice. Mikan was red, and quickly threw herself back like Natsume was a hot poker.

"Y-you pervert!" screamed Mikan, her cheeks flaming pink as Natsume sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He stared towards Mikan as she glared at him. Well, at least she'd given up on getting him in that stupid lake.

Or so he thought...

"Come on, you're _going_ in that lake!" cried Mikan loudly, grabbing him by both wrists as Natsume growled low under his breath.

"If you _don't_ mind, Pixie Wings, I would not like another interval like the last, so if you mind, could you let go of me now?" he breathed as Mikan shook her head, smirking.

"I'm not giving up, Natsume. I don't care if you like water or not, I'm getting you into that lake, so just be a good boy and willingly follow me into the water!" she snapped out, trying to drag Natsume towards the lake, but he sat like a rock. He was really getting to Mikan.

"You are _so_ childish, you know that?" she hissed back at him as he smirked a little, probably the first flicker of emotion she'd ever seen on his face.

"Says the one with the Pixie Wings." he retorted. Mikan's eyes darkened as she glared at Natsume, and suddenly pulled him up rather forcefully, surprising them both, and Mikan stumbled due to the surprise and so did Natsume.

"Not again..." she groaned as Natsume stared down at her. As he looked at her, he started to notice how cute she was up close. She had really lovely eyes and a nice smile... then Natsume came to his senses, and stood up. What was he _doing_?

"Right, now that you've proven that all you can do is make us fall over, you can give up. I'm going back to read." Natsume told her as she stood up herself, and fluttered over to him. She grabbed him by the shoulders.

"No, I am _not_ giving up. I'll get you into that lake, even if I have to get a whole load of faeries to do it _for_ me." she told him, and with a devious smile, Miakn started to flap her wings a little harder, and much to Natsume's chagrin, he felt his feet lift off of the ground.

"What do you think you're doing!?" he snarled up at her as Mikan smiled sweetly. Natsume had a bad feeling about this, and he was right to...

"I'm giving you a lift." she giggled, and even though she couldn't lift Natsume off of the ground any higher, she slowly moved him towards the lake, but he didn't help her at all by struggling the way he was.

"Stop _fidgeting_, Natsume! I'll drop you if you keep it up!" she told him harshly as Tsubasa, Misaki and Ruka all watched in amusement. It wa spretty funny to see Natsume being taken to the lake by flight.

"Good, that's what I aim for!" he hissed as Mikan rolled her eyes. Boy, Natsume was such a typical male. Why was he such a nuissance?

"Natsume! Stop it"!... Hey, Natsume... Natsume!" Mikan yelled, accidentally dropping Natsume from her grasp. He'd struggled so much that Mikan had lost her grip on him and dropped him a few feet above the lake. She heard a splash and bit her lip. She quickly flew down to the surface of the lake, looking for Natsume.

"Natsume? Natsume... Natsume, I'm sorry! Where are you?" she cried out. Misaki turned to look at Tsubasa, a knowing look in her eyes as he smirked. Ruka also knew it, to...

"Natsume? Come on, answer me... ARGH!" squealed Mikan, a hand grabbing her ankle and dragging her into the water. Underneath, she saw Natsume glaring at her as she glared back at him. The two the swam back up to surface, and Mikan laughed.

"See! I _told _you that I'd get you into the water and I _did_!" Mikan smiled, then swam in circles around Natsume, playfully splashing him with water. He diddn't look too happy about it.

"Stop it..." he told her as Mikan continued, giggling and ducking into the water, splashing Natsume again and again as he stood where he was. Suddenly, he grabbed Mikan by the shoulders and stared her in the face,

"I told you to stop it!" he hissed as Mikan stared up at him, feeling her blush return to her cheeks. Natsume noticed, but didn't say anything. Actually, even he felt a little warm when he saw her.

"Na... Natsume?" she whispered quietly as he stared at her. Why was he so compelled to her? She was loud, rude, ignorant, a ditz and a faerie of all things. She was nothing like the girls he knew from his Kingdom. How could something so different interest him so much...?

"Don't do that again. _Ever_." he then hissed, and turned back to the embankment as Mikan watched him. Why did he just stare at her? That was so weird... sure, she was used to being stared at differently, but Natsume hadn't looked at her wings. He'd looked at _her_, so of course Mikan felt a little weird about it.

"That was... weird." Mikan muttered to herself as she swam towards Misaki and Tsubasa. Ruka had rushed off towards Natsume to give him a drying spell as Tsubasa grinned towards Mikan.

"What?" Mikan then asked warily. Tsubasa shook his head, and swam towards the embankment quickly. He didn't want to burst out laughing in front of Mikan, so he decided to torment Natsume instead. Mikan then looked at Misaki questionly. "Why was he smirking?" she asked her friend.

"Oh, no reason, Mikan... anyway, come on, let's do some swimming, stretch those leg muscles!" exclaimed Misaki, quickly getting off the subject. Mikan didn't notice, and she beamed energetically.

"Okay!" she trilled, and dived underneath the cool waters of the lake. As she and Misaki swam, however, Tsubasa made fun of Natsume whilst the Prince threatened him with a _lot_ of fire.

"Aww, look at Natsume... crushing on a faerie!" chortled Tsubasa as Natsume glared at the guy, a fireball in his hand, growing larger every second.

"Leave it, Baldy, or you'll be chicken in a second." growled Natsume quietly as Tsubasa smirked. He wouldn't give up so easily, and Natsume knew it.

"What, just because I'm telling the truth? Come on, Princey! It's pretty obvious, the way you stare at her, the way you _try_ to mkae it look like you _don't_ like her... come on, admit it, you like her and there's _no_ denieing it!" Tsubasa pressed on, annoying Natsume even more.

"Back off!" he barked. Tsubasa just went on,

"You aren't denieing it, Natsume! That girl has taken your fancy and you know it! So, are you going to invite her back to the palace and propose to her?" Tsubasa grinned. Natsume narrowed his eyes at the wizard coldly.

"Shut the _heck_ up, baldy! Who asked you!" and with that, Natsume threw the fireball at Tsubasa, who quickly ducked. The fireball hit a rock and left a pretty bad burn mark upon it.

"Natsume! Don't scorch my fiancé until _after_ our wedding! He needs to look at least _half_ decent!" screamed Misaki from the lake as Natsume rolled his eyes as Tsubasa sent a long dagger like glare at Misaki as Mikan laughed. Ruka then pushed Tsubasa away.

"Okay, it's time to leave, Tsubasa... don't anger Natsume anymore." Ruka explained as Tsubasa rolled his eyes like he wasn't doing anything to aggravate Natsume. Natsume glared at Tsubasa some more, then sent another fireball at him for good measure.

"Come on, Ruka." mumbled Natsume, looking at his friend, "Let's go." he said, and walked off with Ruka, just after taking a quick glance at Mikan who was leaping out of the water and fluttering over the lake.

Natsume then turned around and followed Rukla back to Central Town, leaving Mikan, Misaki and Tsubasa to swim in the lake happily...

------------------------------

"Oh, Natsume! You have returned~" cried the King the minute Natsume stepped into the throne room. The happy King immediately swooped towards Natsume, his arms held out before him with a smile across his face, but all was in vain as Natsume simply stepped to the side and let his father trip over his own two feet.

"Foolish old man." muttered Natsume darkly, walking towards the grand staircase so that he could get to his room.

"Natsume! Natsume, you're back, oh how I missed you!" cried a voice, and Natsume was suddenly bowled over by his younger sister, Aoi, who giggled and quickly got off of her older brother. "Sorry, Natsume. I kinda lost control for a minute there." she apologised as Natsume stood himself up and dusted himself off.

"I gathered... anyway, I always return, so you don't have to worry about me, Aoi." Natsume told her as she smiled, then started to skip back upstairs whilst Natsume stood there, sighing to himself. Then his father suddenly sidled up towards him.

"My son, glorious news!~ I have organised a party for your seventeenth biorthday, is that not wonderful?" trilled the King as Natsume's eyes panned, and he instantly whipped around to stare at his father.

"Are you _mad!?_ I don't _want_ a party, that means being social!" spat Natsume. His father still smiled.

"Oh, but Natsume, my dear, dear boy, having a party means that there are a lot of young ladies, potential wives who will come to see you! You need to find yourself a young bride! I don't want to see my only son growing old and alone! You need to find yourself a girl who will stand by your side, through thick and thin!" he exclaimed as Natsume rolled his eyes.

"I've heard this all before, old man, and I'm not _interested_ in finding someone to marry! All the girls in this kingdom want is my _crown_, not me! Don't you get it!?" he snapped at his father who shook his head and sighed to himself,

"Oh, Natsume... there is always going to be at least _one_ girl out there in the world who will love you for you, and they won't care about your crown. Why do you think I married your mother?" his father asked as Natsume sighed to himself, then stared up at the picture of his mother that his father cherished so. His father smiled,

"I loved her, I still do... and that's what I want you to find, a woman who makes you feel happy when you're with her, like you're floating or all warm. I just want your happiness, my son, and even if it does take one or two years, maybe more, I will stand by you whilst you find yourself a bride, but this birthday party will help you along your way." he said with a small smile as Natsume rolled his eyes, then left to go to his room.

Once Natsume was safely in his room, he closed the door and ran his fingers through his hair before walking towards his bed briskly and falling down onto it. He then looked towards one of the large windows that had sunlight glistening through it, and on the window ledge there stood the rose that the faerie had given him, slowly blooming inside a glistening crystal vial, shaped like a pair of butterfly wings...

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I hope you enjoyed! This is, by far, the longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoyed it, everyone, I didn't intend for it to be as long as it turned out to be, but hey, c'est la vie! I hope you liked reading it, and remember, any errors or what not, don't fret about it, just tell em and I will try as best as I can to make myself a better editor. Thanks, guys!

_**Lots of love, Blue~**_

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	7. Something Much More Wonderful

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Natsume is going to have a birthday party, but what's the theme of it all, and more importantly, is Mikan invited? The day of the Crowning Ceremony is also nearing, and if Mikan doesn't bloom by then, her mother and Grandfather will be banished from their Kingdom alongside her. Can Mikan bloom and find out her history before the Crowning Ceremony, or will she be too late? NXM

Oh thanks sooo much to those of you that have supported me through thick and thin, through the bad and the good times and through this story! It's only 10 chapters long, but I hope for a sequel!

Disclaimed! I disclaim all rights to owning Gakuen Alice! Oh, nooooooooooooooo! I own what I own!!!!!!! xxxxx

Have a happy day of reading, guys, love you all! Kisses, xxxxx

**Chapter Seven:**** ...Something Much More Wonderful.**

_The thing that you wish for the most could actually be the thing you want the least. You could want the best of everything, when in fact the simplest things please you more than anything. You could want the acceptance of everyone around you, but actually you just want people who truly care for you, no matter how few there are. Sometimes you don't need everything you could ever want, sometimes you just have to need what you have..._

_"His Royal Highness, Prince Natsume, here by declares that you are invited to his Masqued Ball on his Seventeenth Birthday this Sunday coming,"_ Mikan read out loudly when she had received the invitation. Both Misaki and Tsubasa had one, too, which had actually surprised Tsubasa as Natsume didn't like him much. "A Masque? I've never been to one."

"Really, I always thought you would have, seeing as you're royalty like his royal Princely-ness." Misaki said, looking at Mikan who shook her head.

"No, never, our parties normally consist of flying around a tree in the woods and our Crowning Ceremony. We don't have very many parties." explained Mikan rather glumly as Misaki nodded, then placed her invitation onto her coffee table and walked towards Mikan.

"Well, seeing as you already have the wings, you can go as a faerie, all you need now is a mask and a dress, right?" she asked, staring at Mikan for a minute before smiling towards Tsubasa.

"I guess... but what will _you_ go as?" Mikan asked. Misaki just shrugged, not knowing herself.

"I don't know, but I'll figure it out at some point... hey, maybe I'll go as a Wizard and surprise everyone." she joked as Mikan shook her head and smiled, then hugged Misaki before going off to her bedroom. Mikan hadn't picked up the Faerie Tales book since the last time she'd read it, and wanted to see if there was anything else in there that 'might' help her out, but she did doubt it.

"_The Angel's Wings... _I don't think I remember this one." Mikan muttered to herself as she opened the faerie tales book to the page of the Angel's Wings story. Mikan then started to read it, wondering how it would end...

**The Angel's Wings**

**Long ago there was a faerie prince who longed to fall in love. For years he had been pressurised by his father to find a bride so that he could take the throne for himself. However, the prince could not find a girl he loved enough, so his father decided for him to marry another princess if he did not choose a bride within a certain number of days following up to the prince's eighteenth birthday. So, the prince agreed to his fathers plan, and decided to hold a three day ball a few days before he turned eighteen.  
The three balls had specific themes; Formal, Flowers and Masque. Each night the prince would dance with every girl that attended the three balls and at the end choose the one he enjoyed his time with the most. So, the invitations were sent, and all the eligible faeries in the kingdom were invited to his three themed balls so that he could finally choose his bride, or be married to a princess his father chose for him.  
Now somewhere in the kingdom there lived one girl who was different from all the other faeries she knew, for she was actually of Flower faerie descent. The girl loved to sing and dance, and was anticipating the ball with excitement. However, not many faeries from the local village wanted her to go because of how different she was, but that did not stop the faerie from doing what she wanted. A week before the three balls started, the faerie made herself three dresses for the dances she was about to attend; the first was a formal gown that she had dressed up with flowers and pearls that her late mother had left her. The second dress was made up of orange, yellow and red flower petals that she had carefully woven together with spiders thread, and then last of all the third dress that she made was for the last of the three balls, a masque, and it was made of hand-woven silk and some faerie dust that made it glitter gently in the light. These were the three dresses that the young faerie would wear to the three balls.  
When the first night of the ball came, the young faerie put on her first dress for the formal ball and then decorated her hair with more flowers and pearls like her dress. The faerie then flew towards the ball where many other young faeries of the kingdom were, each trying to woo the prince so that they could be his bride. However, the minute the young faerie entered the large ballroom, the prince's eyes were on her, for she was different to every other faerie in the room with her peculiar dress and her pixie wings, and so the prince asked her to dance, and the young faerie couldn't have been more pleased than to accept his hand.  
The next day, the faerie was ridiculed by the other faeries for her appearence at the ball, and they told her not to go to the next one, but that night she doned on her second dress and again danced with the prince for even longer than the night before. The faerie was growing to like the handsome faerie prince, and he was starting to like her as well. After the ball, the prince left the young faerie with a parting gift; a single flower that only bloomed once every ten years in the winter. The faerie promised herself to treasure it, then parted her way until the next and last night.  
The next morning as the young faerie sat in her home, she stared at the beautiful flower that the prince had given her. Then, when she reached out a hand to touch the gentle petals, something filled her entire body with light and happiness, and she grew warm, for the minute her hand had touched the precious flower, she grew Angel wings as pure and gentle as the white winter snow.  
And so that night, the faerie dressed for the masque; the last of the three themed balls. Her dress glittered lightly in the moonlight, and she placed a matching mask over her eyes, and when she entered the ballroom, everyone's eyes turned to her. For once, everyone was looking at her in awe instead of discontent, but she couldn't have been happier than when the prince asked her to dance once again with him. And despite her change of wings and her mask, the prince still knew who she was, because she was still her; she had just bloomed.  
And once the ball finished, the prince announced his new bride-to-be; the young faerie with the Angel wings. Together, the two lived happily ever after...**

"Happily Ever After... that's so _sweet_! I wish mother still had her happily ever after." Mikan said to herself, then closed the book and sat on the edge of her bed, stretching her arms above her head. She then skipped towards the bedroom door and opened it, found that all was quiet, then left to find Misaki and Tsubasa, who were surprisingly nowhere to be found.

"Misaki? Tsubasa? Where are you?" she called. She hadn't been reading _that_ long, had she? All the faerie tales were just short stories compiled into one book, so they couldn't have gone far. Mikan just shrugged her shoulders and headed for the door, wondering if they had gone to do some shopping; Misaki did need some wedding jewellery, after all...

Mikan decided to flitter around the town, not bothered by the constant stares she was getting. She was pretty much old news, but the towns people were still intrigued to see a faerie fluttering around their town like it was an everyday occurrence. Mikan had bought herself ice cream, then went to look for Misaki wherever she could, but soon gave up when her wings became tired. She sighed to herself, sitting down on the pavement in the cool shade as wizards alike walked past her, waving or just ignoring her. Mikan smiled to herself.

She loved the Wizarding Kingdom; it was so tranquil and kind. Nobody ridiculed her for her wings, well, nobody but Natsume, but he always had something to say about her, he didn't like her. Mikan then wondered why she had started to think of Natsume. Why was he on her mind? The prince in the story had reminded her of him, but that prince was kinder and less hostile, Natsume was a brute and knew it. Mikan sighed to herself, shaking her head. She had to get that evil prince out of her head fast or she would just want to strangle him the next moment she saw him.

"What are you doing here, Pixie Wings?" a voice then asked. Mikan looked up to see the one person she didn't particularly want to see, but he was in a disguise.

"I'm sitting down. My wings need a rest." she stated, staring up at Natsume who arched an eyebrow like she was stating something stupid. He kept on staring at her as she tilted her head.

"I'm not a freak show, you know." she then mumbled, folding her arms.

"I never said that." Natsume growled, then leaned against the wall Mikan was sitting with her back against and stuffed his hands into the pockets of the robes he had on. "I just didn't think that wings could get tired."

"Normal wings _don't_, Pixie wings _do_, and guess what I have." she said with sarcasm as Natsume rolled his eyes, then decided to sit beside Mikan as she stared at him in shock.

"Why are you sitting next to me?" she asked him warily as he turned to stare at her.

"Because you look like an absolute loner, I can't let people think you're friendless." he stated simply as Mikan glared at him, then suddenly remembered something and smiled,

"Hey; thanks for the invite to your masque, that's quite... generous of someone like you." she said in the nicest way she could. Natsume glared at her then, scowling.

"Gee, thanks for saying it so _nicely_, dust brain. Anyway, it wasn't my idea, it was my _fathers_. He wants me to find an eligible girl to wed before I get the throne. Apparently I need a Queen to stand beside me for the rest of my life." he muttered lowly as Mikan blinked.

"Wow, that sounds so much like the Angel's Wings..." she said to herself quietly. Natsume stared at her. Mikan looked up at him, "Oh! It's a story from a book of Faerie Tales. It's sweet..."

"Whatever, it's just a story. It's not like it's real." Natsume said coldly as Mikan rolled her eyes, then suddenly leaned towards Natsume, staring at his face as he blinked, wondering what she was doing.

"What _are_ you doing!?" he snapped as Mikan sat back, pursing her lips.

"Your eyes... they're not like other wizards' eyes. They're quite dark and empty... lonely, too." she whispered, pausing, "Why are you lonely?"

"Because I want to be." he answered. Mikan shook her head,

"No one _wants_ to be lonely, Natsume... and anyway, you have Ruka, so obviously you aren't lonely, you're just looking for _more_ companionship, right?" she asked him with a small smile. Natsume shrugged,

"Not really, companionship's _boring_." he muttered. Mikan then leaned closer again,

"What about a wife? Don't you want a wife who'll love you and think you're great?" she asked him. Boy, she was annoying.

"You sound just like my father, you know that? And anyway, all the girls in this kingdom love me and think I'm great." he told her as she sat there, then shook her head.

"No they don't, they admire you and just think you're great because you're a prince! I may not know much about admiration, but I know that girls don't like you for _you_. And I don't really like you that much, which must be a nice change, princey." she snapped. Natsume narrowed his eyes at her darkly,

"Don't get catty with me, dust brain." he snarled darkly,

"I can get catty with you all I want, Natsume, because I don't care what you think and I'm not like those other girls! And if you don't want me here or don't like me, then just tell me to leave, because it's obvious you hate me!" she cried. Natsume didn't answer until a few minutes later,

"No." he then said quietly. Mikan blinked a lot.

"No? Why!" she asked loudly. Some wizards looked towards them in confusion, but went about their business.

"Because you're probably the only girl I can stand other than Misaki." he admitted. Mikan became confused,

"I thought you couldn't stand me... you're always so mean to me, Natsume... and I'm mean right back." she said in a small voice. Natsume shook his head, staring into his lap,

"That's exactly _why_. You aren't afraid of me like every other girl; you don't admire me or think I'm superb, you're just you around me which is what I'm not used to. Misaki's the same, but she'd older and has Baldy, but you... you're a princess and you're so hot-headed!... Why are you so _different!"_ he told her as she stared at him, then beamed.

"I'm different because I haven't had much royal treatment, Natsume! With these wings, you don't get much respect from the public!" she cried happily, then suddenly fluttered off the ground and turned upside down, making sure to hold her dress skirt tightly.

"On second thoughts, get out of my kingdom." Natsume joked as Mikan rolled her eyes, then returned to the ground and held out her hand to Natsume,

"Let's walk. It'll possibly clear your head of whatever you think of, Natsume." she then grabbed Natsume's hand and pulled him up, forcing him to walk with her, even if he did try to object.

"You're holding my hand." Natsume stated coldly, his free hand stuck into his pocket as Mikan rolled her eyes, smirking towards Natsume.

"What, afraid of catching _cooties_? You're such a child." she laughed as Natsume glared at her, then started to pull Mikan roughly as she blinked, wondering what on earth he was doing.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously, but Natsume was silent, pulling her along to wherever he was taking her. Mikan was getting nervous. Was he throwing her out of the kingdom? Sure, she disliked Natsume and he hated her, but did he really hate her enough to throw her out of the kingdom?

The walk was fifteen minutes, and Mikan wasn't really the best walker in the world, but if she whined Natsume would've bit her head off, he was just like that. Then she was suddenly stunned. Where Natsume had taken her was absolutely _stunning_.

"Is... is this a grotto!?" she cried out, letting go of Natsume's hand and running towards the said place; Natsume had certainly taken Mikan to a grotto. It was dark, but star-like crystals were embedded in the leaves of the tree's that covered the sky. A small waterfall ran into the glittering lake, and flowers, mushrooms and other weeds grew around the large enclosure. Mikan stared in wonder.

"This was once a fairy grotto, when faeries and wizards lived in harmony together." Natsume explained as Mikan turned to stare at him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"We once lived together in harmony? I thought that was just Angels and Faeries." she muttered, but Natsume shook his head, then shrugged and sat on a flat rock near by, staring at Mikan as she stared back at him.

"Yeah, but we used to live alongside those elemental faeries... or that's what my father told me. That's how we got our powers. It seems that we became enemies, though. Accusations or something." Natsume mumbled as Mikan stood there, wondering about it. She then sighed, and sat down on another flat rock opposite to Natsume.

"So how did you find this place?" Mikan asked him gently, staring up at the leafy roof. Natsume stared, too.

"My mother always brought me and my sister here. It was her favourite place... this is where she met my father." Natsume started as Mikan smiled,

"Wow, was your mom a princess?" she asked, but Natsume shook his head.

"No, she was just a regular wizard, dust brain. Kings or Queens can marry whomever they want here, no matter their status." Natsume told her darkly as Mikan closed her mouth and nodded. Natsume looked around the large grotto. "My mom was a pretty good alchemist, and from what my dad tells me, a wild girl. He met her here one day when he was trying to run awayb from the palace guards,"

"Kinda reminds me of someone." smirked Mikan as Natsume rolled his eyes like she was an idiot,

"Anyway, he found her here, casting some spells. She casted flower and water spells for a combination, I guess. My father says it's the most beautiful thing he ever saw, really." Natsume paused, staring towards Mikan who was suddenly entranced. "What are you looking at me like that for?" he snapped. Mikan blinked,

"Er... well, you're a good story teller! I love romantic encounters, it's so sweet! My mom met my dad by accident. He saved her from drowning, then told her the reason she couldn't swim was because of her propellers. My mom wasn't best pleased," giggled Mikan as Natsume raised an eyebrow.

"I forgot that your mom had Pixie Wings, too." Natsume stated as Mikan nodded,

"Yes, she does... but she took her wings as a bad thing, it seems that I accepted mine from when I was a kid and didn't gain Fairy Wings. My mom had a hard time as a kid, a harder time than me, especially when she married my dad." Mikan went on as Natsume crossed his arms.

"You're really not accepted that much, are you, dust brain?" he queried as Mikan shook her head, then lifted herself from the flat rock, and fluttered towards Natsume, hovering in front of him.

"I don't really care for acceptance anymore. I just need you guys... you all make me happy." she then hugged Natsume, which was a shock because no girl had been so personal towards him, not like this. He was sent candy and stuff by his admirers, sure, but no girl, especially none like Mikan, had ever _hugged_ him. Heck, they were too scared!

And Mikan even surprised herself, because when she hugged him, her heart was beating faster than she could describe with words, her face was red hot and she knew she was blushing fifteen shades of red. Mikan knew that lately she'd been feeling weird whenever she was near Natsume or thought of him, but this was even weirder.

"Why are you hugging me?" Natsume asked Mikan quietly as she held him tighter. Not even she knew why...

"Because... you're a special person to me. Just like Misaki and Tsubasa and Ruka. You're my friends." she whispered, then let go of Natsume, standing on the ground and blushing harder. Natsume didn't question her anymore, he just stood up and left as Mikan watched him, starting to return to her normal colour.

Was a hug really that offensive to his royal highness?...

The minute Natsume returned home, he went straight to his room. He did not care for his fathers' words of welcome or his sister who'd missed him, he just needed to be alone, he needed to _think_ and to wonder what the faerie's hug had really meant... were they really 'just friends'. Natsume pondered, then looked towards his window and stared at the rose that sat there in its vile. It was already blooming radiantly, just like Mikan had wished it would...

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Oh, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I like writing it, I just added the faerie grotto in for the fun of it, but it was like 'yay, grotto!'. Anyways, thanks for reading, guys, and always smile, and have an Airy Fairy day! Love you all!

_**Lots of love and hugs, Blue -Niagra**_

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	8. She Found Her True Self

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

It's time for the Masque, and Mikan's invited! It's Mikan's time to shine and show Natsume that not everyone admires him, but those who don't love him just as much as they love a true friend... NXM

Thank you for reading, guys! I love you all and I even love those silent readers, even if you hate me! I'm sleepy but I gotta lotta love! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll work hard, GAMBATANE!!! Have a nice day and please, love those around you, even the ones who widn you up and make you mad.

DISCLAIMED! I disclaim all rights to owning the Pizza Plaza and the Pasta La Vista pun line... wait, this isn't... oh noooo! I DON'T OWN GAKUEN ALICE, WAAAH, HEARTBREAK!!! T.T

Have a nice day and happy reading, my lovelies! Kisses, xoxoxoxoxox

**Chapter Eight:**** She found her True Self...**

_The love of a person who is close to your heart could be the only thing you need to help you bloom. You don't need many friends, and you will only need the love of one pure hearted soul to guide you through life. No matter how much you look, you will only find a handful of true friends along your jpourney, and each day these friends take you one step closer to becoming your true self..._

"Oh, you didn't know? The royal party will be held in the Grotto. They all are, ever since the King married Natsume's mother." explained Misaki as Mikan sat there in amazement., She hadn't known that Natsume's birthday would be held in the grotto he had shown her... but she was glad it was, because the grotto was spectacular! Mikan couldn't think of a better place to hold Natsume's birthday party, which was approximately a day away.

And yet Mikan still had no dress.

"That's great, I love the grotto... but I still don't have a _dress_ for the masque, Misaki! I can't go in what I wear on a daily basis... I'll look odder than normal." Mikan said, annoyed at herself for not purchasing a dress earlier in the week before Natsume's birthday. Misaki, however, smiled like she was hiding something. Mikan didn't notice this, though.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm pretty sure you'll find something before tomorrow night. Trust me on this one, Mikan." Misaki smiled reassurringly, patting Mikan on the shoulder as Mikan nodded, then started to eat the breakfast that Misaki had prepared for her.

"Natsume must be having a rough time," smirked Tsubasa, eating his eggs as Mikan and Misaki turned towards him. Tsubasa stared back at the girls and chewed until he swallowed, "I mean it's the day before his _birthday._ He's not allowed outside and has to have dress fittings, food tasters and stuff like that, he's staying in the palace until tomorrow night. There are guards at every door, window and crevice."

"And how do you know that?" Misaki queried, folding her arms as Mikan set her fork down to see what would unfold,

"Ruka told me earlier, when you two were alseep. Natsume's not best pleased about it, but it's really the first toime his father's ever locked him up like this, so he can't complain... his father doesn't want Natsume to bail out of getting some fancy clothes for his royal birthday bash." Tsubasa was chuckling to himself. Mikan sat there, wondering what Natsume would look like. For the most part, he wore regular clothes like most of the wizarding kingdom, she'd never seen him in anything fancy...

She then blushed, thinking he'd be handsome in anything he wore.

"Mikan, you're blushing!" Misaki explaimed as Mikan snapped her head upright, mouth agape. She was speechless.

"I... I..." she stammered, then looked down at her plate before quickly standing up, still red in the face. "I have to go somewhere... now." she muttered, then quickly ran out of the room as Misaki and Tsubasa watched her, then turned to stare at each other. Tsubasa knew that Mikan had been thinking about a guy, but Misaki knew exactly who Mikan had been thinking about...

Mikan had found that one of her new sanctuaries in the Wizarding Kingdom was the Grotto. It was secluded, quiet, and even reminded her of home. She missed her mother and the Fairy Kingdom, but she loved being in the Wizarding Kingdom, and the Grotto seemed to give her the best of both worlds, really. There she felt like she was in the middle with the two places she loved the most.

However when Mikan entered the Grotto that day, she found that someone else was there, someone who wasn't Natsume. This time, the person was a young girl with jet black hair and wearing a white gown with gold entwined into the fabric.

"Oh, hello! Are you the Pixie Princess?" the girl asked, skipping towards Mikan as the brunette stared at the girl. She looked a little like Natsume, but a kinder, more feminine version of Natsume who could actually _smile._

"Er... Pixie Princess?" asked Mikan, wondering if the young girl meant her. The girl nodded, smiling, staring up at Mikan. There wasn't any other pixie princess around, but Mikan wasn't exactly bright.

"Yeah, that's what my papa calls you, but big brother calls you Dust Brain. So, are you Dust Brain, miss?" the girl siled sweetly as ikan glared at Natsume in her head. This was obviously his younger sister, but why she knew who Mikan was, she didn't know.

Did Natsume talk about her to his family?

"Er, yeah, but call me Mikan... are you Natsume's little sister?" she asked as the girl nodde,d smiling up brightly at Mikan.

"Yes, my name is Aoi, and I am the younger and only sibling to prince Natsume. He's told us a lot about you, miss Mikan." Aoi stated as Mikan blushed lightly. So he _did_ talk about her... she didn't know whether to be happy or insulted, but to know that Natsume actually acknowledged her as a conversation starter, well... it pleased her, and she smiled.

"Really? I didn't think he thought I was of much importance, honestly." explained Mikan as Aoi smiled rather knowingly, then took Mikan's hand in hers and stared up at Mikan, who was a tiny bit taller than the princess.

"I wouldn't say that." she smiled. Mikan looked confused. "So, shall we proceed?" Aoi then asked, clutching Mikan's hand tightly as the brunette became even more confused than she was before hand.

"To where? I only came here to think." Mikan stated as Aoi smiled sweetly, then pulled Mikan towards the exit of the Grotto. The pixie followed, wondering where the princess was taking her.

"To the palace, of course! Father wants to meet you so much, he thinks you're fascinating! He's never met a faerie with pixie wings before, so he wants to see you!" Aoi cried happily, starting to run as Mikan followed so as not to be dragged along, What was it with everyone in the wizarding kingdom that fascinated them so about her wings? She was a pixie winged faerie, nothing special...

But to others, Mikan was more than she knew she was...

"Father, I found her! Just like big brother said, she was at the Grotto!" cried Aoi the minute Mikan had been forced into the throne room. She stared around the palace in amazement. Even though she had lived in a palace for her entire life, seeing where Natsume lived was something that Mikan had never expected to see. She thought Natsume wouldn't like her enough to even let her get up close to the Palace gates.

"So you're the 'Pixie Princess', right?" Mikan heard a low, masculine voice say to her as she turned to stare at a person standing in front of her. He had dark hair tied back in a ponytail, and a kind looking face with a smile. It was obvious that he was the king, but Mikan wondered how Natsume could be related to someone who looked so kind.

"Yes... I'm Mikan, Princess of the Faerie kingdom." she stated quietly, curtseying to the King. Even if she was a princess herself, she still needed to be courteous towards the father of one of her friends. Aoi stood beside Mikan, looking proud of herself and smiling sweetly.

"I know that, Natsume's told us all about you... well, snippets, but Ruka filled us in!" the king was suddenly acting very happily towards Mikan, something she was not used to; he was informal and cheerful, not uptight and strict like her grandfather. This man was indeed a strange king...

"Erm... nice to meet you, your highness." she muttered, lowering her head then turning to look up at him again. "Is it just my wings that you want to see?"

"Oh, that? No, not really, but your wings sure are something, especially in your kingdom, right?" the king laughed casually as Mikan stood there, staring at him. Her heart saddened. Yes, her wings sure were 'something'. They were Pixie Wings, something no ordinary faerie would be proud of.

"The king noticed Mikan's sudden sadness, and stepped towards her. He crouched low to the ground so thathe was level with Mikan, and lifted her head by her chin to stare into her eyes. He smiled.

"It's nothing to be sad about, Mikan-chan. If you didn't have your wings, then you wouldn't have ran away and came here. And if that hadn't have happened, you may have never have met Natsume." he explained as Mikan stared at him, "And it's a good thing that Natsume has met you. You've really opened him up, what with your nature and everything."

"But... I'm _rude_ to him and he dislikes me a bit, I know he does! I joke about him and I get angry with the guy, he's so frustrating! How could _I_ open him up!?" she cried out as the King sighed, shaking his head.

"Maybe because you're like no other girl. One, you have the wings of a Pixie, a rare sight to see, yes, but you also treat him like any other being here. You don't see him with a crown... you're a wonderful girl, and Natsume see's that, he just won't admit it to you." the king exclaimed as Mikan stared at him for a moment, then looked towards the ground slowly. The king then stood straight, and walked towards a large picture of a beautiful woman;

"Did you know that Natsume's mother was fascinated with faeries?" the King suddenly asked in a loud voice, turning his head slightly to smile at Mikan who stared at the painting in awe.

"Re-really?" she asked him, and the king nodded.

"Yes, she loved faeries. They were the things she treasured the most. She even ventured out of the kingdom to see them, but she once found a faerie that had fascinated her the most..." the king paused, then turned to Mikan, "She saw a faerie with pixie wings, one she thought she'd never see before. Of course, this was before I married her, but she once told me of a young faerie she once met with pixie wings who was playing in a field of flowers."

"A... field of flowers?" Mikan repeated. The king then went on;

"The field of flowers were outside of the wizarding kingdom, but this pixie winged faerie had found sanctuary there. My wife asked the faerie how she had kept her wings, but the young faerie did not know. Then, my wife found out something during her studies; there were some faeries who were born with pixie wings and had them their entire lives; these were faeries of flower faerie descent, but with a much greater power than any other faerie."

"She had made friends with this young faerie who had pixie wings, and told her of her findings. However, Natsume's mother had to stop seeing the girl; she was with child, and rather sick. Her studies soon stopped and she found out nothing more about the faeries. However, with the pixie's research on who she was and why she was the way she was, my wife wrote a book on her findings." the King then stopped and turned to Mikan, still smiling, but his eyes looked sad. Mikan realised that he had cared deeply about his wife, and she must have cared for him just as much.

"That pixie winged faerie... was that my mother?" she whispered as the King shrugged, sighing.

"I have no idea, Mikan, but ever since she told me of the pixie winged faerie, I became fascinated and set out to look for one myself. However, before today, I have seen no faerie with pixie wings but you, and you are just as beautiful as the faerie my wife described to me." the King rested his hands on Mikan's shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and then asked her; "If you're looking for answers to as why you're the way you are, Mikan, then I suggest you read my wifes book. The only thing she wished for, other than her family's happiness, was that her faerie friend found out who she was. Now that I have met you, I want _you_ to find out who you are... if that's what you want, Mikan."

Mikan stared at the man, then slowly nodded with a small smile.

"Yes... I would like to. Thank you." she whispered as the King smiled, then stood upright, but before he showed Mikan to where the book was, he nodded towards Aoi who grinned, then grabbed Mikan's hand, and started to pull her up towards the stairs.

"Huh? Aoi... what are you doing!?" she asked. The King smiled happily, nodding his head a lot as Mikan was taken up the stairs.

"Oh, before you get the book... I have decided to let Aoi prepare for tonights festivities~ You can't go to Natsume's birthday bash looking the way you are, now, can you?" the King sing-songed as Mikan blushed, following Aoi obediantly as the king chuckled to himself, then walked off as Mikan looked ahead of her, wondering what Aoi had in store for her...

"Oh, Mikan! You look just like a Pixie Princess!" Aoi cried when Mikan stepped out in the dress that Aoi had thrust upon her. It was scary how Aoi knew her dress size, and what was even scarier was the fact that Aoi knew she liked _flowers._

The dress was a simple gown with a flowing skirt made of orange and gold leaves, and sewn onto it were numerous daisies, daffodils, buttercups and tiger lilies. The dress was very pretty, and Mikan adored it, but she wondered how Aoi had configured what her dress size was and her most favourite thing in the world...

"Misaki made this dress for you. She already knew your dress size from when Narumi took your measurements. She wanted to do something for you to make you happy. She knows how much you love flowers." Aoi explained, walking up to Mikan and smiling brightly. Mikan gasped. Misaki had done so much for her, how could she repay her friend? She was so wonderful to her.

"But I don't deserve this..." Mikan started. Aoi hushed her.

"Of course you do! You've made my brother so happy! He may not look it, but inside, Natsume's ridden with joy and hope. I haven't seen him like that since before mother died... Natsume's not the easiest person to get along with, but you've somehow helped him, Mikan. You've made my brother happy, and for that, you deserve the best of everything. Your friends love you, Mikan, and they want to see you smile more and more, especially when you bloom!" Aoi the walked towards a small table and picked something up. She walked back to Mikan and held it up, beaming.

"This flower represents the happiness you brought to my brother. The day he brought it home, it was a lonely little bud, but now... this rose has almost bloomed. Soon it will fully open and become what you have always wanted it to be." Aoi whispered, handing it to Mikan as she took it from Aoi and stared at the small bud in shocked surprise.

"He... he kept it... I thought he..." she started quietly as Aoi smile,

"Threw it away? He never even contemplated it!" Aoi said, she even sounded amazed that Natsume had kept the tiny rose bud that looked like it had no potential. Mikan stared at it and tears began tpo form in her eyes. Aoi rested a hand on Mikan's shoulder.

"Why would he... I mean _nothing_ to him..." she started to cry, shaking her head as Aoi sighed to herself silently, then stepped back,

"Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm sure he has a reasonable explanation." she said, then walked out of the room as Mikan stod there in a stunned silence, staring at the rose that was starting to become more and more beautiful with each passing minute...

**The Next Night...**

"Happy Birthday, Prince Natsume-kun!" screaming girls yelled as Natsume walked through the entrance of the Grotto. He growled with exasperation. Natsume really did hate big birthday parties, especially the ones his father threw. All the girls had come as princesses or something. Oh how he wished to turn them into toads.

"Father, you're dead." growled Natsume as his father laughed nervously, shaking his head. Aoi ran towards Natsume wearing a long, sparkling white gown with Angel wings attached to her back and she hugged Natsume tightly. Many of the girls who had attended Natsume's party gasped, but said nothing as Aoi was directly related to Natsume. If she was any other girl, heads would role.

"Happy birthday, big brother!" she laughed as Natsume nodded, hugging Aoi back, then letting her go. Aoi ran off towards a group of other girls her age who had been speculating Natsume with weary eyes. It then occured to him that Mikan wasn't there yet.

On the other side of the Grotto, right next to the buffet table, there stood Misaki, Tsubasa and Ruka, all talking together. Natsume walked towards them, because surely they would know where the dust brained, pixie winged girl was.

Wait, why was he thinking about her?

"Oi, Baldy." Natsume stated coldly to Tsubasa, who turned to look at Natsume. Tsubasa was wearing a dark mask and looked a little like Zoro, but more ridiculous. Natsume would have laughed if he showed emotion in front of others. "Where's that feather brained pixie?" he snapped. Tsubasa raised an eyebrow over his mask.

"New nickname, eh? She's not here yet." he stated cooly as Natsume rolled his eyes behind his mask. Misaki then pushed her fiancé aside and smiled towards Natsume politely.

"Firstly, Happy Birthday, Natsume, and secondly, Mikan said something had come up. She will be here soon, but not yet. I guess it's to add to the suspense." she explained calmly as Natsume nodded, then turned without another word and left Tsubasa and Misaki to talk whilst Ruka followed Natsume obedianty.

"Why were you asking for Mikan?" Ruka queried. Natsume turned to stare at Ruka,

"No reason." he hissed, then started to walk again. Natsume went to sit on a flat rock that was free. It was hidden away and decorated in numerous streamers and flowers which his father had brought about with his magic. Natsume sat there with Ruka beside him, and in silence they sat.

"Where's prince Natsume? I want to give him his birthday kiss!" a girl whined as Natsume backed into the darkness further. Joy, a birthday kiss from a girl in his kingdom. She was only trying to flatter herself, really.

"What!? _I'm_ giving him a birthday kiss! _You_ have no chance with him!" another girl cried. It turned out that these two girls were friends, but both overly obsessed with Natsume. He rolled his eyes.

"Typical." he muttered, folding his arms as Ruka laughed. Natsume would never change, but he knew that Natsume only desired to see a certain someone who obtained the strangest wings in her faerie kingdom...

"Natsume? Natsume..." a voice called, and Natsume was suddenly sitting upright. Ruka was nearly laughing at Natsume's reaction, because they both knew who was calling him. Natsume stood and looked around as the two fighting girls gasped, suddenly spieing him. Natsume had no interest for them though, because all he saw was Mikan, standing in the middle of the Grotto looking... worried? He walked briskly towards her.

Mikan was look around when Natsume tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and nearly screamed because he'd scared her, but she just gasped, thankfully. Natsume quirked an eyebrow as Mikan stared up at him.

"You called?" he said in a low voice. Mikan nodded, then looked to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this." she muttered. Natsume was confused, then suddenly, Mikan produced the rose that she had given Natsume. His eyes widened behind his mask. Where did she get that? "You let it bloom... you told me that you had thrown it away!"

"Er... well, I was going to, but you were so... so adament about me keeping it alive..." Natsume lied, making an excuse as Mikan stared at him through an eye mask made of leaves. She didn't believe him. Natsume seemed to be a pretty bad liar.

"I never did! I just todl you that it was for you and that it was embued with pixie dust to keep it alive! You could've thrown it away, Natsume, but you didn't! Why did you let it bloom!?" demanded Mikan as Natsume stared around him. He couldn't save himself, not really... He then looked right into Mikan's eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Because you're probably the only person other than my family and Ruka to give me something from the bottom of your heart. Despite the fact that it was a useless bud at the time... it's really..." Natsume stopped, looking down at the rose then at Mikan who raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's really _what?_" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him as he blinked, shaking his head then staring at Mikan once again.

"... blossomed." he whispered. Mikan blinked, confused, then stared down at the rose. The rose that had once been a small enclosed bud, hidden from the world and showing nothing but it's shell, had suddenly bloomed into the most beautiful rose Mikan had ever seen. The petals were wide and vibrant, a lovely red colour, and bigger than the rose she had once seen in the palace gardens. It was truly magnificent.

"It's... it's bloomed. It's finally bloomed." she smiled, ready to cry tears of joy when something suddenly happened. Mikan felt a surge go through her, a light buzz that started from her fingertips and ended with her toes. However the thing she most noticed was that her wings felt very, _very_ different.

That was when she realised that Natsume hadn't noticed the rose blossom. He'd noticed _her_ bloom.

"You've bloomed..." he then whispered. Mikan stood there, shocked, then slowly she turned and walked towards the small lake to stare into the water at her reflection, and slowly, as she looked upon herself, she saw...

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AND that's the cliff hanger, guys! I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! :p There were some big words in there, which even surprised me! Anyway, have a fun day guys and I hope you enjoyed the story! Two more chapters to go! Love you all, and adieu!

_**Lots of love, Blue-chi!~**_

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	9. And Someone Who Loved Her

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

Mikan has bloomed!? She's finally become the thing she's always wanted to be. But what about her wings? Have they grown into real faeries wings, or maybe even Princess wings! Mikan's true wings have finally revealed themselves and she's about to see them for herself, and now that they're there, Mikan can finally go home. But it's the crowning Ceremony! What'll happen and will she be able to help her mother out in time? It's up to Mikan to save her mother and grandfather from being kicked out of their homes! NXM

OMG! I've gotten this far and I am _so_ excited to see your reaction to what her wings will be! It's a surprise, but you may all be shocked! This is the penultimate chapter to the story, however, there _will_ be a sequel, seeing as the last chapter will be a bonus/cliffy. I hope you enjoy this chappy, guys!

**From the start, I planned on 10 chapters and ten chapters only. However, I never planned the outcome. I didn't think that I'd get this far and realise that to finish the whole story off, I'd have to make a sequel. So, when the chapters end, I will try my best to make the sequel, which may also be ten chapters long.**

**Hope that answers any confused questions ****J**

Dedicated to moonacre99 and to **Mags** (you know who you are) and **Pru **(you know who YOU are, **Pru** J)

DISCLAIMED! You all know why! I own NOTHING!

I love fairy tales, don't you?

Love Blue~ xoxoxoxoxoxox

**Chapter Nine:**** ... And Someone Who Loved Her.**

_Those who have bloomed have found their true wings; their true wings represent who they are as a person, may they be the wings of a King or Queen, or the wings of a faerie. Those faeries born with the wings of a pixie who have them for their entire lives are not ordinary; they are extraordinary. These faeries will gain wings more beautiful than regular faerie, for these faeries have a greater power than other faeries as they are not just the descendants of Flower Faeries, they are also the descendants of Angels. But to bloom, they need something dear to another's heart..._

"What _happened_?" cried Mikan, sitting on her bed in Misaki and Tsubasa's cottage. She had been asking herself the same question over and over again, trying to clarify the meaning of it all. Even Misaki, the fairyologist, didn't have an answer.

"Mikan, does it _matter_? You bloomed! You've wanted to bloom for so long, and now you can finally return home and show everyone that you've bloomed!" Misaki said, walking towards Mikan and sitting beside her friend, wrapping an arm around Mikan's shoulders as the brunette sat there, staring into her lap. She pictured the night before, replaying it in her head...

_Mikan walked towards the small lake that ran through the grotto, and kneeled down before it. Natsume was staring at her strangely, but it didn't matter, she just needed to see it for herself; whether she had bloomed or not. As she neared the edge of the lake, Mikan felt nervous. What would she see, what would she feel? That didn't matter anymore, though, she just wanted to know what she looked like when she had bloomed._

_And when she stared at her reflection, Mikan saw something other than herself. She saw her Pixie Wings, but they weren't the same... they were bigger, brighter, and she felt a surge of power run through them to her body. Her wings, despite being the same, had changed whilst she had bloomed..._

"My wings changed! They... they grew bigger, Misaki! This doesn't happen to normal faeries... this didn't happen to my mother!" Mikan yelled, staring at her friends with worry as Misaki sighed to herself. How could she explain to Mikan that it was maybe a good thing? Her wings looked stronger, but she also questioned why Mikan's wings had suddenly changed the minute she bloomed.

"It's so strange..." whispered Mikan, nestling her head into the crook of Misaki's neck as the pink haired wizard looked up at Tsubasa who was leaning on the doorframe, arms folded. He just shrugged. He didn't know what to say. As a matter of fact, not many of Mikan's friends did. It was a bit weird seeing her small pixie wings grow two or three sizes bigger than they were normally.

Weirdest of all, they glowed. Mikan's wings had a sort of sheen to them and were brighter than her regular pixie wings. It was unexplainable to as why her wings changed with her when she bloomed that night at Natsume's birthday...

"Mikan-chan... maybe you should try and figure this out for yourself, to as why you bloomed. Or maybe you could ask your mother?" whispered Misaki. The pink haired wizard then stood, smiling. She walked out of the room followed by Tsubasa who closed the door. Mikan sat there in silence, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was just so shocked... she'd never expected anything like her wings changing to happen... that was just _absurd_.

Right?

Mikan jumped off the bed gently, wondering what she should do. However, as she got off of the bed, something dropped to the floor softly. She looked down and saw, beside her feet, the book of Faerie Tales that Misaki had given her. Mikan leaned down to pick it up, then gasped when she saw the title of one of the stories that was kept in the book;

_**The Pixie Princess**_

Mikan grabbed the book and walked towards the desk, staring at the title of the book. Why was it entitled The Pixie Princess? Mikan had only been called Pixie Princess a handful of times, mainly by Aoi who had taken to calling her that. Mikan stared at the title for a few more seconds, then sat at the desk and started to read the faerie tale...

**Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a Pixie who wanted acceptance, and instead found something much more wonderful. She found her true self, and someone to love her.  
The Pixie was once bullied by many of the other faeries in the kingdom because of her wings. Unlike everyone else, this princess still had her little Pixie Wings. However she had grown to love herself, despite what everyone else said about her, but the Pixie longed for acceptance from her people, but never found it.  
One day, the Pixie was out playing in a field of flowers outside of her kingdom. She was happier than she ever was in the kingdom, and she had an enjoyable time chasing the butterflies and picking the beautiful wild flowers. This was where the young Pixie was meant to be, in the beautiful field of flowers with the birds, the bee's and the butterflies, chasing them all day where no one could make fun of her for her wings status.  
But on this particular day the Pixie was being watched by someone. As she skipped and flitted around the fields, picking flowers and getting covered in their sweet smell, a young man had found her and decided to watch this young faerie as she played joyfully. Never had he seen a faerie with such wings, and never had he seen one so carefree and happy. He had taken to the Pixie, and decided to watch her every day from then on. This the Pixie did not know, but she would soon realise that there was someone who accepted her as she was...  
On a warm summers day, the Pixie Princess was in the field again, away from the life she did not want to lead where she was ignored and disliked by the faeries around her. And on this day the young man decided to reveal himself to her and befriend the Pixie winged faerie, and when he did, the young faerie was so surprised that she fell into the lake by the field of flowers. The young man helped her out, and the Pixie Princess found out that he was the Prince of the Faerie Kingdom. She felt embarrassed, and wanted to fly away but the Prince would not let her. He revealed that he had seen her many a time, and was fascinated by her wings.  
Soon the Pixie and the young prince became friends, and they were always together. It caused an uproar in the kingdom, for the Prince was soon to go to the crowning ceremony to see if he would be King. However the Prince had fallen in love with the Pixie, and she had fallen in love with him, and in the process, bloomed so magnificently.  
The Prince declared that he wished to marry her. This shocked both the Pixie and the public, but the Prince was determined, and soon the two were engaged.  
The Pixie was happy, and soon her fiancé was crowned King. She became his Queen, and the two were happier than they ever could be. But not everyone was happy with the Prince's decision to marry a Pixie Winged Faerie...  
Soon, however, the King became ill whilst his wife was with child. The Pixie Queen was heartbroken, but stayed with her husband through everything, and soon she birthed a beautiful baby girl. A Pixie winged princess who would one day hopefully grow beautiful faerie wings. However, soon after the baby's birth, the young King died and the Pixie Queen was devastated. She was to only be a Princess, nobody wanted the Pixie to be Queen. So, she lived her days in the Palace with her child, hoping that her daughter would not be subjected to the life she had. And then, one day, the Pixie, tired from a hard days work, sat down on her husbands throne with her daughter in her arms, and felt something strange happen to her; her wings felt stronger and brilliant, and when she looked behind her, she saw Angel Wings...**

_"Wow, she grew Angel Wings! That's so cool!" cried Mikan, jumping about in her bed as her mother laughed, trying to calm her daughter down. Mikan was so energetic, even if she was tired._

_"Yes, it is, Mikan, but do you think the Angel Wings made her any happier?" Yuka asked as Mikan stopped bouncing on her bed and pondered. She then shook her head,_

_"No, because she didn't have her Princey with her! Poor lady!" cried Mikan, then turned to her mother question, "What did she do then?" she asked, excited again._

_"I don't know. Do you think that she kept her wings out, honey?" asked Yuka as Mikan shrugged._

_"Maybe, because then she'd show those meanies that she was better than they were all along! I wish you were like her, mommy, because then no one would be mean to you!" Mikan exclaimed, beaming as Yuka laughed lightly, shaking her head._

_"Are you sure, though? Maybe they would like her more, but wouldn't they be fake about it? You can't change someone's opinion, Mikan." Yuka explained lightly as her daughter sat there, nodding as she listened. Yuka put a hand on top of Mikan's head. "Oh, Mikan... you'll understand this all one day, I know you will. As long as you accept yourself, there's no need to have pretend friends... so long as there is someone who truly loves you, then you will bloom."_

_"Into a rose?" Mikan said in confusion. Yuka laughed._

_"Yes, just like a rose." Yuka smiled, staring at her daughter fondly, "Mikan, remember that faerie tales, no matter how unbelievable they can be, contain all your hopes and answers for the future. Never stop believing in the stories you love so much. Promise?" Yuka asked, holding out her pinkie finger as Mikan stuck out hers, grinning._

_"Promise!" she said, and she and her mother shook their pinkies together, then Mikan squealed when Yuka started to tickle her playfully..._

"Mommy..." Mikan whispered, a tear falling from the corner of her eye as she closed her eyes. She then quickly rubbed her eyes, not wanting to cry. She was stronger that, and now she could see her mother again; she had bloomed, and she promised her mother that she would return once she had bloomed. But she needed some answers...

"Pixie Wings..." she whispered to herself, blinking. She then quickly flicked through the faerie tale book and read a few paragraphs of each story before closing it. She had only just realised that all the stories contained faeries with _Pixie Wings_. Faeries who had no ability to grow any other wings, faeries just like her and her mother. Why hadn't she noticed it before!?

These faeries... were they somehow connected to Mikan and her mother? Was she like them? Did she need something special to help her obtain such wings like they had, like the Angel in the story? Would she obtain her true wings?

Mikan grabbed the faerie tale book and ran out of her bedroom. Before Misaki and Tsubasa could ask where she was going, Mikan was out the front door and flying as fast as she could towards the Palace. Now that her wings were stronger, bigger and better, her flying was speedier and agile. Mikan was there in minutes, barely out of breath but in need of more answers.

"Your majesty! Your majesty I need that book your wife wrote!" Mikan cried out, running through the halls as the King, Natsume and Aoi all turned to stare at Mikan in surprise. Natsume was confused, but the King smiled as some guards ran after Mikan.

"Your Majesty, sire, this faerie just barged in here without a name or a pass!" cried one guard as the other nodded. Mikan rushed to the King as he nodded towards her, then stared towards his guards.

"Don't worry, she's a friend of Natsume's, so she's permitted to enter. You may leave." he stated, and with a wave of his hand, the guards were gone. He then turned to stare at Mikan who looked up at him, breathing heavily.

"Please... I need to find out where I'm from... I need to realise if I have true wings!" Mikan exclaimed as the king nodded, turning. He beckoned Mikan to follow. Natsume and Aoi were both curious to find out a few things too, so followed Mikan and the King as he took them through a hall. Natsume had been down the hall before, it served as an escape route, but the door his father showed them was one that was tightly locked.

"This was, and still is, my dear Kaoru's private study. In here are her fairyology books, scriptures and everything she needed to help her with her studies. Mikan, you may take the book she wrote, but I do wish to have it back at some point. I like Kaoru's things to be kept here, as she left them." he smiled gently as Mikan nodded, then opened the door to the locked room. When Mikan, Natsume and Aoi looked inside, the two girls gasped and Natsume was stunned.

Inside, the study was an exact replica of the Grotto that Natsume had gone to and had shown Mikan. However there was no flat rock or a lake, but there were numerous chairs and bookcases and desks that filled the room. Mikan stepped inside after the King, and was closely followed by Natsume and Aoi who looked around in amazement at their mothers' study.

"Wow..." Mikan said under her breath. The king went to one bookshelf that was almost entry, and found the book he needed, and then walked back to Mikan, handing it to her.

"This is the book my wife wrote, Mikan. It will hopefully answer some of your questions that you need to know, and I hope that you will find out a few essential things." the King then sweeped past Mikan and his children, smiling briefly before returning to the throne room as Mikan stood there, holding the thin book bound by string and leather. Natsume walked towards Mikan and stood beside her.

"Aren't you going to open it?" he asked her. Mikan gulped, nodding. She walked towards a desk and sat down, opening the book to the first page entitled _Discovery_. She instantly noticed that the book was in a diary styled format. Soon she would find out about her heritage...

_**Day 1**_

_**Today I saw her, a faerie who has pixie wings! She isn't ordinary, she is just like me, but a little younger; she's a fully grown teenager with the wings of a pixie! I have always read about these pixie winged faeries in the faerie tales book from the library, but I have never seen one. Today it has been proved; Pixie Winged faeries **_**do**_** exist! It's amazing! It also seems to be that she loves flowers, as she spends most of her time in the field of flowers outside the wizarding kingdom.**_

_**Day 2**_

_**She's back again, but she's crying. I guess she has a hard time with her life. I don't know what happens, but I think she gets bullied. Once again, she's picking flowers, but there is no emotion today.**_

_**Day 5**_

_**I went and talked to her today. I've found out that she's a bit weary... she's not used to people being kind towards her. She's letting up, however. She tried to fly away at first, but I told her about my fairyology and where I was from. She's still wary, but at least she talks to me!**_

_**Day 6**_

_**She **_**is**_** being bullied. She tells me that everyone in her kingdom rejects her because of her Pixie Wings. She wishes that she had faerie wings like everyone else. She doesn't accept herself. I asked her how she got those wings. She says she doesn't know, because none of her siblings or parents have those wings. However, she revealed that her aunt had wings just like her but never had children of her own...**_

_**Day 15**_

_**Someone else is watching her! I haven't told her yet, but I think there's a young man watching us. He just stares at her. I don't know if he's going to be mean to her. I don't want him to, she seems happier now that we're friends. I wish that he'd go away.**_

_**Day 17**_

_**I showed her my flower and water combination today. She enjoyed it and thought it was the greatest thing! She's just like a flower faerie, she loves flowers and would spend all her days in the field if she could. She wants to be with the flower faeries, but can't. Apparently they don't like others from another kind alongside them...**_

_**Day 52**_

_**Before I could meet her, I saw something interesting! That guy who was watching us all the time actually approached her! However she fell into the lake in shock! He helped her out, but he musrt have said something to upset her, because she pushed him right into the lake and laughed! It was an interesting matter indeed...**_

_**Day 56**_

_**She's become friends with the man. I have been busy with studies recently. I have been reading many fairyology books on Pixie winged faeries, but there are not many. One interests me the most, though. It's just a small sentence, but it's got something there, I can tell! If only I could configure it...**_

_**Day 109**_

_**"Something special can help bloom!" I think I've configured it! I was reading the faerie tales from the library and found out that all of the stories relate! The faeries all have Pixie Wings, and each of them grow a new set of wings at the end! Some don't, but I think it has something to do with the person they desire most... whenever a faerie with the wings of a pixie love someone, and that person loves them back, then they create a bond, and then if that faerie touches her loves most desired possession (other than herself, of course) she grows the wings that are meant for her, her true wings! This is still a theory, but if my friends' wings grow, then I think I may be right!**_

_**Day 111**_

_**I found something out... it may not always be the one you marry or bear children with who helps you to grow those wings. One story from the faerie tales book tells of a faerie who bloomed from her friends' bracelet, thanks to the love of her friend. Is it possible that love is a strong bond that can enable ones wings to grow into their true wings? Mya it be the love of a friend, or the love of a husband...?**_

_**Day 201**_

_**She has married that young man! He was a prince and he loved her! I think she was surprised herself, but she married him. I hear that she's with child. She's a very lucky girl to have someone who loves her so. I think if she realises it soon, her true wings will come out...**_

_**Day ???**_

_**I have another theory; faeries with pixie wings are descended from flower faeries and another species! The other species, I do not know, but again the answer may lie in that faerie tale book. There must be a reason to as why these wings can only spring out when someone loves them dearly enough, like with the same amount of love they have for a certain object.**_

_**This is a complicated theory indeed.**_

_**Day ???**_

_**It's been so long, but the faerie king died. He was so young, and so was his queen. However she is still alive and well and has her child, a baby princess I hear. I hope she is well, I wish to give her my notes one day, maybe they will help her.**_

_**Another thing I find funny, that faerie tale book, a new one came out today with a new story added. This has become even more intriguing. Maybe the faerie tales really **_**are**_** related to the pixie winged faeries...**_

And then it ended there. Mikan sat in silence as she stared at the last paragraph. These notes... they were so much like the story that Mikan had just read before coming along to the palace... and the story was just so much like her mothers tale of how she met her father...

"This is weird..." she muttered to herself as Natsume stared at the book, scanning the last few sentences that there were. He then stood straight as Aoi stared from Mikan to her brother, then back to Mikan.

"So they just pop out when you have someone care for you, huh?" Natsume mumbled. Mikan looked up at him, then stood.

"Yes, but it seems that no one cares for me... I haven't 'popped' out my true wings yet, have I!?" she snapped at him as Natsume blinked and Aoi shrank back. She felt a heated argument coming on...

"Well, maybe you haven't found another object that someone loves just as much as you, dust brain! Don't yell at me irrationally." Natsume snapped back as Mikan glared at him, then shook her head.

"I don't get it! I've bloomed, and yet my wings... they just _grew_ a little! What is wrong with my wings!?" Mikan cried out, staring up at the ceiling, her back to Natsume who stared at her wings for a second, then remembered something.

And then he was gone. Aoi blinked, and Mikan turned, confused to as why he'd run off. What was he doing? In minutes, Natsume came back with something in his hand; the rose that Mikan had given him, the one that had bloomed fully when Mikan did.

"Hold it." he ordered. Mikan stared at him wearily.

"What? Why?" she asked. Natsume thrust it towards her.

"Just _hold it!"_ he roared, and so Mikan took it obediently. The minute her fingers touched the deep red petals, Mikan felt a surge of warmth enter her entire body and her wings felt strong and vibrant. Natsume watched as Mikan's eyes widened, and Aoi gasped.

"Your wings... they grew because of _this_ rose." Natsume whispered as Mikan stared towards Natsume in shock. She blushed, looking down at the blossomed rose. It was true... the rose that Natsume had cared for so wonderfully had helped Mikan's wings to grow... so these were her true wings?

"But... they're pixie wings!" she cried. Natsume shrugged, then walked up to Mikan and stared straight into her eyes.

"So? Remember when we first met?" he asked, and Mikan nodded, "Well what did I say to you?"

"Er... 'Oi, you, what are you doing in my Kingdom!'. That's what you said." Mikan recalled as Natsume rolled his eyes. Boy, she was even more dust brained than from the first time he had met her.

"No, you idiot! I said that you shouldn't have to care about your wing status, just so long as you were okay with yourself... and maybe _this_ is why your wings are as they are now! Because you were accepting them yourself all along..." he then turned away from Mikan as she blinked, her heart beating fast and her pulse quickening. What was Natsume doing to her?

But what he had said made some sense... she had always been accepting of her wings. Sure, sometimes she wasn't as accepting, and she wanted the acceptance of the faerie kingdom, but knowing that Natsume had accepted her... that had made her so happy that day, and she had become more vibrant with the wings she had. Mikan smiled gently to herself, then put the rose down and hugged Natsume from behind.

"Thank you, Natsume... you're a true friend. No wonder I bloomed when I was with you." she whispered, then let go of him and smiled. Mikan flitted towards the door, and with one last wave, she left. Natsume stood there until he was certain that she was gone, then shoved his head into his hands.

"You like her more than a friend, don't you?" Aoi asked her brother as he looked up, breathing in deeply then scowling darkly towards his sister.

"Why must you be so observant?" he asked her as she smiled, then turned and skipped off towards the door. Before she left fully, though, she turned towards Natsume and clapped.

"Because love is blind to those who are loved, whilst those who observe are the most knowledgeable!" she cried out, then skipped off as Natsume sat down in the nearest chair, and watched the rose as it sat on the table...

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Mikan stared up, a smile on her face as she stared at the large gates that led to the faerie kingdom, the place she had promised to return to once she had bloomed... Mikan wondered what everyone would do. Would her mother notice that she had bloomed? Would there be an uproar? She didn't care anymore, just so long as she could see her mother once again and tell her how happy she was.

Because once Mikan finished what she needed to do, she would once again be home...

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It's done! I think this is the penultimate chapter! Thanks for all your reviews and the ones you may be writing now, guys! You're all awesome and I love this story! My faerie tales mean so much to me, they give girls hopes and dreams for the future! Also, STOP BULLYING! D: It's cruel!

_**Lots of love, Blue-chi~**_

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	10. But Is This The End

**Pixie Wings and  
Other Things**

It's time for Mikan to enter the crowning ceremony. She has finally bloomed and realised that her true wings have in fact always been her pixie wings, But will anyone notice the sudden change? And who is the new King or Queen of the Faerie Kingdom? Who will proceed to the throne, and will Mikan and her family be banished forever afterwards? It all depends on who takes the throne and what they intend! The ultimate chapter of this faerie tale awaits you! NXM

DISCLAIMED! You know it'a true~

Oh my deary aunt, it's the last chapter! I plan on a sequel though, which will develop more into Natsume and Mikan's relationship, with a few problems etc. It's nice to write a ten chapter story, they're easy to write, plus you guys stick through it and they're easier to find, I guess... oh, and by the way, thanks a lot guys, I love you all.

Dedication to my dearest SootyXSnowdrops! Love you, MWAH!

**READ THIS PLEASE! To those who do not know, this is THE LAST CHAPTER! I do not want to have any reviews asking when the next chapter is, its' ANNOYING! I will create a sequel, but please, no asking for the next chapter. THERE ISN'T ONE!**

**With that done… thanks for reading, everyone, and sorry for the delay. I've been swamped with work from collage and all that. I have been tired and disappointed, but here it is… the longest chapter yet!**

Remember, bullying is BAD, acceptance is GOOD! KISSES! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

**Chapter Ten:**** But Is This The End?**

_The wings of an Angel are hard to obtain. With a heart as pure as gold and the love of someone true, you will obtain the wings that represent your inner self. Acceptance, belonging... you will finally have it all, but will it all be worth it in the end? Or will you just be happy that you have finally accepted yourself and know who you want to be..._

"It's the Crowning Ceremony today, dear! Get ready and wear your best dress and hair accessories!" cried Mrs. Shouda with a wide smile on her face as Sumire sat at the end of the table, smiling as well, but her smile wasn't that of a joyous one or a happy one. She was sad, because this was the day that determined her fate.

Sumire had always known that she was a mere puppet towards her parents. Ever since she had grown her Princess Wings she had been subjected to losing her friends and never being able to speak to Koko again, the person she treasured the most out of anyone else in the entire Kingdom. If Sumire became the Queen, then she knew that her parents would tell her what to do and whom to marry. They would just take over.

And she didn't want that. She wanted freedom... she wanted everything that the Pixie Princess had. She just wished that she was Mikan more than anything.

"Of course, mother... I can hardly wait!" Sumire said with fake enthusiasm. Her mother seemed very happy that day, getting out her best pearls and the new dress she had bought from the second kingdom over. It was a just a matter of time before Sumire would be seated on that throne and when her fate would be made... but did she really want it?

Sumire stood and walked from the table to her room. Her father was out, planning what would happen the day after - a party to celebrate, maybe? Sumire didn't care. She just wanted to be with one person and one person only...

"Koko!? What are you doing here?" hissed Sumire, closing her door and running towards Koko. She was shocked to see him, especially because she was actually supposed to be getting ready and so was he. Even if he wasn't in line for the throne, he still needed to look presentable.

"I came to wish you luck, Sumire... or maybe you don't want to see me?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as Sumire blushed, then wrapped her arms around Koko, tears developing in the corners of her eyes.

"Of course I wanted to see you... you'rew the only person I need, right now. Oh, Koko, I'm a wreck! I don't want to go through with this day, I don't want to be subjected to whatever my parents are planning!" Sumire revealed, turning away and burying her head in her hands. Koko shook hishead, then placed a ahnd on Sumire's shoulder and made her turn so that she was face him. He then pried her hands apart, and smiled as Sumire blinked back her tears.

"Even when you cry, you're quite pretty." Koko smiled. Sumire couldn't believe him... he made her blush and was pretty much trying to cheer her up on the worst possible day of her life... but she smiled nonetheless.

"And even when you're a jerk... you're still quite nice." she choked as Koko laughed, then leaned towards her. Sumire wondered why he was invading her personal space without permission, but before she could ask him why he was at such a close range, Koko gently kissed her on the lips. It was just a little peck, but it was Sumire's first kiss, and her face went more than five shades of red!

"Ko-Koko!" she cried out, covering her mouth with her hands as he smirked, then hugged her.

"I must be crazy to love someone like you. Sumire... but I do. And no matter how today turns out, I'll still love you. May you be a Queen or jst a regular faerie again... you'll never get rid of me." he stated, and that was it. Sumire fell into a fit of tears and kneeled on the ground. Koko kneeled in front of her and wrapped his arms around her, cradling the sobbing girl as she clutched his shirt.

Whatever happened to her that day, Sumire knew for sure that she would have Koko standing by her side, smiling and holding onto her for all she was worth...

"Today's the day. Shall we get ready and prepare the welcoming speech, your highness?" Yuka asked, walking up to the King who sat on the throne, head in his hands. He looked up at Yuka briefly then turned away.

"What's the use? Mikan won't return... there's no chance now that we'll have our family name back on the throne unless her children gain the wings... but what's the hope of that ever happening again?" he snorted as Yuka stared at him, then suddenly, she slammed a foot down onto the ground and lifted from the ground.

"Now you listen here!" she barked out loudly, startling the king as he looked up at her, "Mikan _will_ return, but in her own time! I know she will! Once Mikan's found people who are close to her heart then she will make an appearence! And what is it with the throne, anyway!? Can't you learn to live like a _normal_ person, huh!? There's plenty to see out there, in fact, I would just like to see you live a life outside of the higher walls!" she then returned to the ground, fuming mad.

The King was stunned to silence as Yuka folded her arms, turning her head away. Then the King caved in,

"It's not that," he said quietly. Yuka looked up and stared at him,

"Then what is this about? Why are you so adament about Mikan taking over the throne, exceeding you? I don't think, after many years of your pressure, she would want it. I know I wouldn't." Yuka stated. The King shook his head.

"If Mikan does not exceed the throne... then we all have to leave. The council have decided that once a new King or Queen exceeds the throne, then we will be exiled." he revealed as Yuka's arms fell.

"What?... _Why_? Is it because of our _wings_? Who's pathetic enough to do that!? Unless... it's the Shouda's, isn't it!? Only they would do this to us, they hate me! They hate everything to do with me, and will even exile _you_ to get that point across!" Yuka cried as the King sighed, not looking at her.

"If I could change things, I would Yuka, but I can't... the decision was made final. Only the new King or Queen can oppose the council, but there's no hope for that." the King was at a loss, and Yua knew he was.

"Butisn't there hope?" she whispered. The King shook his head, and stood up.

"Only if an Angel appeared... but what are the odds of that happening?" he said in a small voice, then left as Yuka watched him. Once he was gone, Yuka stood straight and stared at the throne. The throne that her husband had once sat at so proudly. She rested her hand on the armrest, then slowly walked in front of it.

"My dear... Yukihara." she whispered, then slowly sat herself down in the throne, and felt her wings come to life. She smiled to herself as a small tear rolled down her cheek. "Please... help Mikan..." and soon more tears came, and Yuka threw her head into her hands as her shoulders shook...

"Mikan's run away!" Misaki cried the minute she found Natsume, who stared at her blankly, then threw down the book he had been reading in the library.

"That's library property, Hyuuga, and I don't care if you're the crowning joy!" snarled Hotaru, taking out a gun-like object as Natsume rolled his eyes, turning his main attention to Misaki.

"She _what_?" he snapped, standing as Misaki walked briskly towards the exit, Natsume following. Misaki started to talk;

"She ran away, just as I said. Mikan left a note behind, and I knew that she'd return to her kingdom anyway, once she'd bloomed, but I didn't think that she'd leave without a goodbye or a warning..." Misaki sounded frantic, nerved. Natsume knew that a woman didn't _need the kind of pressure Mikan had placed upon Misaki before her wedding._

"She was going to go anyway?" he muttered. Misaki nodded.

"I know... but I didn't think she was going to bloom so soon... especially not now... not on the day of the Crowning Ceremony in her kingdom!" Misaki cried as Natsume stared at the pink haired woman.

"It's the Crowning Ceremony!? Where did you hear this?" he demanded. Misaki blinked, then rifled through her pockets and produced a piece of crumpled paper. Natsume unravelled it to reveal a note in small, messy handwriting. Even for a girl, Mikan had bad writing skills.

_Dear Misaki and everyone,_

_I'm sorry to leave you with a note, but it's the only way for me to say it without wanting to stay a second longer;_

_I have pretty much run away to return to my kingdom. I have finally bloomed, and once I bloomed, I promised my mother that I would return and see her again. I have missed her so, but I know that I will miss you all as well. On the day I return to my kingdom it will be the day of the Crowning Ceremony. A new King or Queen will be chosen by our throne, and I will dance for our kingdom's new successor.  
I'm sorry to have left you all, but this way it is so much easier. I wish you all the happiness in the world, and without all of you, I wouldn't have bloomed like I did. Once, I was a small bud, enclosed and invisible to the world, subjected to humiliation. But now I have opened my petals and have grown to love myself even more. I am now a rose, vibrant and alive and able to face the world and its harms. Without all opf you, my friends, I may not have been able to bloom so quickly. Without you, I wouldn't be me.  
I will miss you all, and I hope for you to miss me. Please take care, and remember that whenever you see a small rosebud, just think about the potential it has in life; how it will grow and how beautiful it will become.  
_

_Yours faithfully,  
The Pixie Princess, Mikan Sakura_

"That idiot." snarled Natsume, already crumpling the note as his hand turned into a fist. Misaki placed her hand over Natsume's, shaking her head.

"Don't... you know what she's like... she'll be back, I know she will. You know, and she knows it, too. We all do. And when she returns... we'll welcome her with open arms, won't we? Because that's what she needs, Natsume. She needs us to be there for her." whispered Misaki as Natsume stared at her. He then threw the letter at Misaki's chest and walked off, a dark scowl on his face as the pink haired wizard sighed, then turned and left for home.

Natsume, however, wasn't done. He wasn't going to give up so easily, and he was prepared to cross from his Kingdom to the next to take Mikan back...

Mikan looked up and smiled at the sun as it shone down on her. She was in the field of flowers, sitting by the clear lake. It was the very same lake where her mother had met her father. It was also the same place where her mother had met Kaoru.

Even for one of the dimmest faeries, Mikan wasn't dumb enough to not figure out who Natsume's mother had met. There were only two Pixie winged faeries in all of the faerie kingdom, and they were Mikan and her mother.

The previous night, Mikan had returned to the faerie kingdom. Nobody knew as she had decided to sleep in the flower field, but she was still back hom where her mother and grandfather were. She couldn't wait to see them; it would be a surprise not only for them but for everyone there. Why? Because it was the day of the Crowning Ceremony, and a new King or Queen would be chosen for the Faerie Kingdom.

Mikan didn't know when or how she would enter the ceremony, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it, but she knew that she wouldn't be attending in her regular everyday clothes. Instead, she'd decided to wear a ceremonial dress that she had taken with her prior to running away to the Wizarding Kingdom. The thing she was most excited about, though, was her mothers' reaction to how well Mikan had bloomed.

But she also hoped that her friends would forgive her for running away like she had. Mikan had no intention of writing a note, but knowing that she'd have to say goodbye to their faces would be hard enough... so a note it was. It seemed to be the only thing she knew how to do; write a note and leave, just like she had with her mother and grandfather.

But who knew when she would return to the Wizarding world? Mikan was a faerie, and she belonged with her mother and grandfather who loved her dearly. She needed to be with those who were just like her, and that wasn't with the Wizards. But she _would_ visit them... after all, they were her friends, right? And Mikan needed them just as much as they needed her.

Mikan then stood up, knowing that it would soon be time for the Crowning Ceremony to start. Mikan wanted to watch the traditional festivities, then dance with the flower faeries, even if nobody wanted her there.

Mikan smiled to herself. She knew that she had the confidence, the love of her mother and her friends' support behind her. She knew that she had faith in herself, and that she was great, no matter what her wing status was. The one thing her friends and mother had taught her was going to show everyone just how much one little Pixie Princess had bloomed...

"The festivities have begun!" a voice boomed over invisible speakers as gold, red, blue and a multitude of other colours burst through the air. Finally, it was that time of the year; the day of the royal Crowning Ceremony. Faeries from afar had gathered to celebrate the reign of a new King or Queen. They had waited 16 years, and hopefully, today would be no disappointment.

Every faerie imaginable was there; Flower Faeries, Moon faeries, Solar Faeries, Elemental Faeries, Faeries from other kingdoms, the Mer faeries and many trolls, changelings and other mystical creatures had come to see the new King or Queen who would take the throne. Everyone was excite,d and there were dances, singing and plays along with stalls selling wreaths of flowers (made by the flower faeries) or charms and such created by the Moon and Solar faeries.

And thankfully for them, it was a beautiful day. Everyone was happy. Well... not _everyone_...

"I would have thought that she would at least turn up for the Crowning Ceremony! She's done this her entire _life_... and to miss the one chance to become Queen and take my place? She avoids it like it's a hurtle of bee's!" Mikan's grandfather cried out, pacing up and down the throne room. It had been exquisetly decorated, with fine furnishins, polishes and many drapes. The throne was to be untouched until the Ceremony began to find the new King or Queen.

"She can't help it... Mikan's a stubborn young thing, you should know that more than anyone... she's your grandaughter." explained Yuka. The King turned brisquely and narrowed his eyes at his daughter in law. Yuka stared at him, and then he sighed, shaking his head.

"I know that, it's just... I thought she would at _least_ celebrate the new King or Queen." the old King said wearily as Yuka smiled gently, then shook her head.

"I'm sure that she'll come back to us, one day... but if you hadn't have been so harsh on her, then she may not have run away!2 Yuka then scolded as the King stared at Yuka. She'd made a point... all he had done to Mikan since she was born was scold her, kept her locked in and punished her for never being able to grow her Princess Wings. Mikan had had every right to run off.

Yuka then smiled brightly, "And without you, she wouldn't have gone off to find out who she truly was. If you hadn't have been so strict towards her, Mikan would have never been able to bloom. She has every right to thank you when she returns, and she has every right to love you."

The King was silent. After so many years of being cruel towards Yuka, she was still so kind to him. His son had seen something in Yuka that no one else had, and he could have never accepted that, because he was too ashamed of having a daughter in law with Pixie wings. However, his son had made a perfect choice; he'd married someone worthwhile, someone who didn't want him for his crown. Not once had Yuka objected to never being on the throne. All she had done was care for Mikan and try to become a good mother. She was a good hearted person.

"Now I see why my son married you... it took 16 years, but I finally see it... he really did love you." the King whispered hoarsely as a small tear rolled down Yuka's cheek, remembering Yukihara.

"And I loved him, too... he was the only person I could have loved." she answered back, then without a thought, slowly sank down into the throne. Before the King could warn her not to sit in it, Yuka's wings burst out, and for once, the King was stunned to complete silence as Yuka slowly gazed up at him in disbelief as he stared at her wings. Angel wings, the hardest wings to obtain...

And then Yuka and the King's attention was turned to the sudden scream of joy that erupted from outside. That scream of joy could only mean one thing; the dance of the Flower Faeries. Yuka never missed it, and she wasn't prepared to lose a chance of seeing it again. She blinekd back tears, then looked at the King one last time, and before she left, her wings returned to her regular Pixie Wings.

The King quietly followed suit, and soon was standing outside of the castle on a high balcony with Yuka, who smiled as she stared down at the podium cloaked in a white, glimmering mist that hid the flower faeries behind it.

However the dance didn't go as it normally did...

"_Once upon a time there was a princess, and unlike all the other faeries in her kingdom, she had been born with Pixie Wings that would be hers for the rest of her life. However this pixie had already learned to accept herself, but she still had a long way to go before she finally found her true self that was lieing deep within her. On her journey, she made new friends who loved her just as much as her mother did, and because of the people who loved her, this Pixie Winged Princess finally bloomed from a bud to a beautiful rose..."_

"That's not the beginning,"  
"Why has it changed? I've been an elder here for a hundred years, and _never_ has the traditional dance changed!"  
"What is this!?"  
"Who's speaking?"

"That voice..." Yuka whispered, and the King noticed, too. Only one person had that voice, and when the veil of mist started to slowly disappear, everyone saw who it was;

Mikan stood on the platform, alone, wearing a dress made of white lilies, small flowers weaved into her hair and bare feet. Yuka gasped, and quickly jumped from the balcony. Now the King knew where Mikan got her recklessness from. Then again, he'd always known...

"Welcome to the dance of the Pixie Princess, everyone!" smiled Mikan, and once she threw up her arms, a burst of flowers were thrown into the sky, and when each flowe burst open, they revealed a flower faerie in each of them, flying around and dancing in the air as Mikan smiled brightly whilst the crowd muttered quietly to one another.

"I thought she'd disappeared."  
"Look at her - she still hasthose disgraceful wings! And she calls herself a princess!"  
"Dispicable!"  
"The nerve of that girl!"  
"I hear that she and her mother will be thrown out of the kingdom once the new King or Queen takes the throne - good riddance, I say!"  
"I didn't think she'd return."

"She returned!?" a cry was suddenly heard from the crowd, and everyone turned to see Sumire, standing in the middle of the crowd wearing her Ceremonial gown for that day. Her dress was made of gold and silver thread woven by Earth faeries and mountain trolls. Sumire looked very beautiful, but inside she didn't feel it.

"Sumire! What do you think you were doing, running off like that? You could have ruined your beautiful dress!" cried Mrs. Shouda, flying over to her daughter and fussing over the girl as Sumire stared at Mikan who stared back at her. Sumire's mother finally noticed that her daughter was staring at something, and she looked up to see Mikan. She then looked rather smug.

"Oh, so you're back, I see? And you still have thos troublesome pixie wings. Not that I'm surprised." snorted Mrs. Shouda as Sumire threw her mother a disapproving look, but her mother didn't notice. Mikan stood at the podium, and was ready to get off, when suddenly she was bowled over.

"Mikan! You're _back!_ And you bloomed! Oh, I'm so happy for you!" cried Yuka, throwing her arms around Mikan who laughed and hugged Yuka tightly. Yuka then swung her daughter around. She'd missed Mikan so much.

But their lovely meeting didn't get the approval of the crowd, who started to yell at Yuka and Mikan in anger. It was only the Faerie Kingdom who disapproved, no other faeries, but it was still a disheartening matter.

"Hey! Don't _boo_ me! I'm only here to see the crowning of a new King or Queen! I have every right, I live here, too!" Mikan yelled as everyone yelled back, then someone coughed loudly into a speaker, and everyone went silent. Suddenly, Mr. Shouda appeared and some applauded his arrival.

"Actually, you don't." he looked rather pleased as Yuka glared at him coldly, "Because once the new King or Queen has been crowned, you, your mother and grandfather are all _banished_. We don't want _your_ sort here! So why not just leave now and get this over and done with? You're spoiling our Ceremony, thanks to your sudden arrival!" snapped the man as Mikan stared at him in horror. She then looked at her mother, who just stared at her feet.

"You... you have to be wrong! This is my _home!_" Mikan yelled, suddenly flying two feet into the air and glaring at the man as he smirked boldly.

"Oh, but I am not wrong, thankfully, and you _are_. Now leave, before you cause another ruckus!" he told her coldly as Mikan stared at him, then her mother. The crowd was giving their approval as she hovered in the air. Mikan was at a loss. When she was in a kingdom where nobody liked her, what was she to do?

Nothing, that was the answer. Yuka then took Mikan's hand in hers and gave her daughter a sad smile. But Mikan couldn't smile back. She was losing her _home_. The place she had grown up in, the place where her parents had gradually fallen in love, the home of her ancestors. Mikan couldn't leave, she loved it in the faerie kingdom... it was her home.

However no one wanted her or Yuka there, so what choice did she have?

"Wait!" Sumire suddenly screamed, and everyone turned to look at her. Her father looked baffled, seeing as his daughter had just screamed louder than he'd ever heard her yell.

"Su-Sumire!? What's wrong, honey?" he asked, flying towards Sumire who stared up at her father, breathing heavily, then narrowed her eyes.

"Everything is wrong! What you're doing is so _wrong_! Mikan doesn't deserve this... she deserves better!" and with that, Sumire ran towards the podium and stood up there beside Mikan, who was just as shocked as everyone else was at Sumire's actions.

"Isn't it true that they have to leave if the Faerie Council make that decision? Well, isn't it also true that the new King or Queen can oppose that?" Sumire stared towards her parents who were silent. They knew it was true, and her father knew it well. He went red with frustration as Sumire turned to Mikan,

"If I can oppose their decision, I will... but that is only if I become Queen, and there's a narrow chance of that even happening." whispered Sumire as Mikan stared at the girl,

"But... you don't even like me." she said quietly. Sumire had tears in her eyes, shaking her head.

"No... I'd give anything to be you... you have freedom, you have people who truly love you. What do I have, Mikan? I have Princess Wings and parents who just want me to be Queen." Sumire shook her head again, then took in a depp breath, and turned to the crowd, staring down at everyone who stared back up at her in dead silence.

"I want Pixie Wings... and other things. I want to be happy." she told everyone as they all stared, shocked at what she had said. Mikan's mouth had fallen open when Sumire had said that, because never in her right mind had Mikan thought someone as shallow and callous as Sumire would wish for Pixie Wings, of all things.

However, it made her smile.

"But you have your freedom, because once your wings show their true self... you can be the person who you've always wanted to be, Sumire... and you have Koko, too." she whispered. Sumire blushed a dark red when Mikan had said that. The brunette tapped her nose with a small smirk as Sumire gulped, then turned to step down the podium, only to be faced by Koko.

"Ko- Koko!?" she cried out, even redder than before as Mikan giggled. Koko smiled sweetly, then held out his hand.

"I'm here to escort you to the throne... the Crowning Ceremony is about to begin." he told her as she stared at him, hen held out her own hand, ready to take his in hers. But after a pause, Sumire fianlly did the one thing she had always wanted to do; she threw her arms around Koko and kissed him like he'd never been kissed before. It was a horrifying sight to see for her parents, but Sumire loved him, and no one could change that...

The minute that the Crowning Ceremony started, everything went silent. All the faeries in the world were waiting to see the next King or Queen who would take over the throne that had been handed down from Sakura to Sakura for hundreds of years. Finally, a new era was dawning.

The King himself held his breath, for his future, Yuka's and Mikan's were in the hands of the new ruler. Everything was up to whom the throne chose, and no one knew who it was, or if someone would even be chosen...

Before she even knew it, Sumire was up for sitting on the throne and seeing if she would be the future Queen of the Faerie Kingdom. She was nervous, dreading how it would all turn out. If she became Queen, then everything was left to her... but she knew that she'd get through it bit by bitl. She hadn't had the pressure Mikan had had, but she had Koko to support her, and hopefully her parents if they accepted everything she did for once.

So, with little hesitation, Sumire sat down on the throne and awaited the decision that would be made...

And then her wings grew and Sumire knew that the throne had chosen her. She was the new Queen of the Faerie Kingdom, something she had been dreading, but something she would do dutifully. She stared towards Koko who grinned happily, waving and cheering for her as the crowds clapped and yelled their praise. Finally, the Faerie Kingdom had a new Queen, someone who could lead them and bring them happiness...

"Cingratulations! You did it, you bloomed into your true wings!" Mikan cried out, hugging Sumire who looked at her in confusion.

"Wait... you don't hate me? I was so mean to you and I made fun of your wings." Sumire stated as Mikan rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Words may hurt, but your ignorance was a little false. I don't mind because I know that I love myself, and you've grown up... just like I have." Mikan explained as Sumire smiled back, then hugged Mikan.

"I didn't think I'd ever hear those words come out of _your_ mouth." she muttered. Mikan looked shocked in a mocking way, and she put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my, your highness,a re you calling me stupid?" she asked, and the two girls giggled. Then, Koko turned up and wrapped his arms around both of the girls.

"Well, ladies, it looks like you two have become friends. What'cha talking about?" Koko nosily asked as Mikan grinned, then unhooked his arm from around her shoulder and stepped back.

"Nothing of any importance, but now I must take your leave. I'll leave the Queen to _you_, Koko." Mikan quickly said, then ran off as Sumire fumed. Why, oh why, did Mikan have to leave Sumire with the one guy who made her turn into the hot tomatoe?

"So... Queen, huh? You must feel really priviliged with such a job. You _do_ know you're going to need a King beside you, right?" Koko stated with a small smile as Sumire stared at him, then grinned back.

"Are you suggesting someone?" she asked him,

"Of course. I only know the _best_ studs in the entire Kingdom. Handfsome, well groomed, hilariously funny and smart, too." he stated importantly as Sumire laughed loudly, ruffling Koko's hair.

"You sure do think too highly of yourself, don't you?" she giggled. She then leaned forwards, and smiled, "But I might just take you up on that offer, Koko." and she kissed him. Even if it annoyed her parents or made Koko's family happy, it didn't matter. Just so long as she and Koko were happy together...

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" someone snarled as Mikan walked through the crowds. She turned slowly, instantly recognizing the voice. Only one guy had that annoyed, ready to hurt sort of tone in his voice, and he usually used it on Tsubasa...

"Natsume! What are you _doing_ here?" cried Mikan, running up to Natsume and hugging him tightly. He pulled her away, afraid that he'd begin to blush, and stared at her intensley.

"I'm here to bring you back." he told her in a low voice. Faeries had begun staring. If Mikan wasn't a commodity before with her wings, she was an even bigger one with a wizard standing next to her.

"Bring me back? Where?" Mikan asked, confused. Natsume wanted to face palm himself. Man, she was so oblivious...

"Back to the _Wizarding Kingdom_, you feather brained pixie!" he snapped, shaking her a little as Mikan blinked, shaking her head.

"But... why? I'm home. I told you that I'd return once I bloomed... this is my home, Natsume." she told him gently as he stared at her, shaking his own head.

"_Here_? Where you were subjected to being ridiculed and laughed at by a bunch of Faeries who don't know how to respect another being? _This_ is the place you call hom? And what was with the letter, anyway, couldn't you tell it to our faces, I mean we're _worried_ about you, for faeries' sake!" he then snapped as Mikan blinked, wondering...

"You... you missed me, didn't you?" she said, suddenly catching on. Natsume stopped, blinking,

"I- I didn't." Natsume lied. Mikan, however, knew otherwise and was persistant.

"You _did_! And _you're_ the only one who turned up to bring me back! You're obviously the only one who doesn't want me to be here... aren't you?" she asked as Natsume stared at her, at a loss. What was he to do? Then Mikan smiled, hugging him. "It's nice to know you still care for the rose even after she's bloomed." she giggled, smiling as Natsume stared at her.

Oh, man, he was going to blush! He quickly turned and hid his face behind his hair as Yuka came flying towards Mikan.

"Mikan, honey, there you are! I've been looking for you! Good news, we can stay! Sumire's been so kind, her parents aren't happy, however they never are... oh? Is this your friend?" Yuka asked, suddenly spieing Natsume who stared at Yuka. Man, she looked so much like Mikan, but taller, older and with... Angel Wings!?

"Oh, mom, this is Natsume, a prince from the Wizarding Kingdom... he's one of my friends... and what happened to your wings!?" she squealed, noticing Yuka's wings. The Angel Winged faerie blushed. Everyone was staring, thanks to her wings.

"Er... they sorta... popped out when I was with Sumire. I leaned on the throne and 'poof!' there they were... I can kinda explain?" she laughed nervously as Mikan blinked, staring at her mother. Then she hugged Yuka tightly.

"I always knew you were an Angel inside... but I guess you have more Angel blood in you than any of us, right?" Mikan asked as Yuka blinked, staring at Mikan. "I found out... I know about our family history... we're related to the flower faeries and Angels, hence our pixie wings and infatuation with flowers... and when we get to something close to our beloved's heart, our true wings grow."

"Your true wings grew!? Mikan, honey, what _are_ your true wings? How did you find this all out, what... you have so much explaining to do, young lady!" Yuka said stubbornly as Mikan smiled, then walked towards Natsume and stared at him.

"His mother helped me... Kaoru. And that Faerie Tale book did, too. It's all the stories of our ancestors, because the last chapter added was of you, and they are all of Pixie winged faeries. It's not that hard to figure out." Mikan said, seeming to be proud of herself as Yuka smiled gently, hugging Mikan tightly, then turning to Natsume.

"Thank you for looking after my daughter, Natsume... and you look just like your mother. I know that she'd be proud of you, too." she said, then Yuka leaned down towards Mikan's ear, and whispered; "_Home isn't always where your family is, or where you were born... it's where your heart belongs, and you belong with him."_

And with that, Yuka turned and walked off, happy as Mikan stood there, rooted to the spot. Natsume stared at her as she blinked, then sighed and smiled. She turned to Natsume and took his hand in hers, smiling.

"Let's go home." sh told him, then walked away with Natsume as Yuka watched, knowing that once day Mikan would realise just why she bloomed beside Natsume...

**One Week Later...**

"And do you, Misaki Harada, take Tsubasa Andou to be lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked kindly as Misaki faced her husband-to-be at the alter, staring him straight in the eye and beaming as her heart pounded. This was it, the final 'I Do' before they were officially married. She breathed in slowly as Tsubasa stood, watching her nervously. If she said no, he wasn't going to be pleased. In fact, he'd probably get Natsume to set fire to a park or something.

"... I do." she said, and Tsubasa breathed a size of relief as she smiled, staring at her husband as he smiled back at her. The Minister beamed and held up his hands.

"I now pronounce you Man and Wife!" he cried, and Misaki threw her arms around her new husband, kissing him before smiling proudly and taking his hand in hers. Everyone cheered and clapped loudly as the two kissed again.

Standing in that crowd was Mikan, wearing her lilac bridesmaids' dress and waving happily towards Misaki and Tsubasa who waved back. Misaki then turned, and threw the bouquet over her shoulder as the girls all gasped, and scrambled to catch it. However, only one girl could catch it, and that girl happened to be Sumire Shouda, the happy fiancé of Koko.

Mikan hugged her new friend lovingly, then turned and grinned up at Natsume, who just rolled his eyes as Mikan tugged and poked his cheek before laughing. Natsume wasn't best pleased, but he had to put up with it; after all, the Best Man couldn't burn the Head Bridesmaid now, could he?

And so, with that, the two were forced to dance together. But really, neither one minded, because that day was a happy one. Mikan was where she had always been; she was home with her friends and didn't plan on leaving, even if they kicked her out. The Faerie Kingdom had their new ruler, and Misaki and Tsubasa were finally married. Everyone was happy, and this was their Happy Ending.

But is this really the end...?

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**PREVIEW FOR A SEQUEL**

_Happy Endings come in all shapes and sizes. Sumire and Koko are now free to love each other and marry, and Misaki is finally bonded to Tsubasa. But what about me? I guess it's time that I started to find my Happy Ending, because wherever there is a Once Upon A Time, or a Far Far Away, there will always be that familiar ending that ends with 'And then they lived Happily Ever After'..._

"Will you marry me?"

"I don't know what to do anymore… what _can_ I do, Misaki?"

"If you think you're anything special, 'Pixie Princess', then you're _wrong_. You're nothing more than a petty little faerie who the prince feels sorry for. Nothing more, you got that?"

"You really like her… don't you?"

"Is… is Natsume the reason I bloomed?"_  
_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OMG thank you for standing beside me through this story! I love all 10 chapters, and I think I went on a bit with this one, but I forgot some questions were unanswered so I had to stick it all in. I hope you enjoyed, this IS the longest chapter officially for this story, and please be well and love yourselves. I hope for a sequel, I really do, and I hope you hope for one too. The sequel will focus on Natsume and Mikan's relationship. :)

_**Lots of love, Blue -Niagra~**_

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